AnnaandMiaAshleyThompson2021

Ashley Thompson

Anna and Mia

"Introduction to Communication Arts and Technology 2 ­ CAT1005 2021"

Table of Contents About the creator Decription of project Research Brainstorming Thumbnails Rough Work Colour Studies Type Studies Compositions Gantt Chart Final Design

About the Creator My name is Ashley Thompson, an 18 year old student at the University of Technology Jamaica. I am currently studying Communication Arts and Technology and possess a passion for writing. I believe that everyone has a talent and with that talent they can inspire and help others. Regrettably, I have no prior experience in creating and audio book but as a media student will use my knowledge to the best of my ability in getting it completed.

Though my experience in digital creation is limited, I have a significant amount of said experience in writing and also on the topic I wish to write about in the book.

The focus of the audio book will be eating disorders. I intend to portray both anorexia and bulimia in different chapters as these are the two that I am most familiar with and have dealt with. I want to introduce the public to the world of eating disorders, prove that it is just as important and urgent as the other topics discussed on the morning news. My years spent in high school are what made me realize that way too many people battle with eating disorders with no way of getting better or even understanding what they are doing to themselves because of the stigma that surrounds the topic. And as a result, I wish to shed light on the matter through a channel that I’ve grown to understand and realize that if executed properly can produce success.

In taking on this task, my family and a small amount of friends are my support system. It’s small because just like others, not many people have any knowledge of my ongoing struggle with eating disorders and with such a touchy topic; I prefer to have a small circle. In terms of accreditation in creating an audio book, I currently do not have any but I do have experience in writing and have written quite a number of pieces.

Description of Project Anna and Mia is a short audiobook that is geared towards educating people on the different ways on can slip ino the hands on and eating disorder and the different ways that these disorders appear to an individual. Though it won't cover every detail about anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, it will have enough information to open a few eyes to this scary world that some say is taboo in certain societies. It will detail a teenager's tragic experience with an eating disorder while shedding some light on the damage it can cause.

As mentioned before, I had my own fair share of experience with anorexia and bulimia. I was fortunate enough not to have my life taken by them but I never told anyone about what I went through. That's another thing they do, they silence you, make you feel like no one around you would care or even begin to understand. They slowly isolate you from the world and then make their move.

In this book, I wish to show whoever out there that is suffering from this terrible situation what can happen to them if they don't try to seek help. My book is not meant to scare, it's meant to help those suffering and educate those who do not know just how bad eating disorders can get. It's not an issue that is talked about much in our media and just maybe, this will be the first step to that happening.

Research In prepping for this assignment, I went ahead and did some more research on both eating disorders, specifically the side effects.

Anorexia's side effects include: *anaemia *heart problems *absence of menstrual cycle in females *decreased testosterone in males *bone loss *etc Bulimia's side effects include: *dehydration *acid reflux *severe dental issues *low blood pressure *burst esophagus *etc

Brainstorm I wasn't exactly sure what angle to begin writing this book from. I knew I wanted to write about both eating disorders but I wasn't sure how I was going to do that. I tried different writing skills to start the story but ended up being stuck each time.

Figuring out what to do with the characters was another struggle. I didn't want to have a plethora of characters, I just wanted to zero in on the most important ones.

I have my fair share of experience when it comes to writing, not professional but there is some amount of skill. And so, I didn't have much trouble writing my story, especially since I'm writing from my personal struggles.

Within ample time I was able to create the plot, my characters and finish the story, however, I was a little dissatisfied with the neding but was able to make due with it.

Thumbnail

Rough Work I did a fair amount of rough work for my story as I wasn't exactly sure how to begin and when I did begin the story, it didn't seem to flow the way that I wanted it to. But here are the rough works that I did:

Rough Work #1 “What did you do Anna? You were supposed to finish the job not put her in a hospital!” “ Do not yell at me Mia, if you had shown up when you were supposed to, we would have gotten this assignment over and done with but you decided to get personal with the subject and now we’re about to lose another one!”

“I didn’t get personal, I just…I couldn’t continue hurting her like you were. I was hoping that you could handle it on your own then I wouldn’t be responsible for her joining the others.”

“Not this again. What is wrong with you? Have you forgotten why we’re doing this in the first place? She needs us and would’ve been happier here but you went and messed it up.”

“No she wouldn’t be and you know it! All we do is hurt her Anna.”

“Enough Mia­“ “No Anna it’s­“ “Mia, she’s waking up we have to go now”

Rough Work #2 “Michael stop you’re hurting me!”

“And you’re hurting me by acting like such an idiot.”

“It was an honest mistake, I didn’t think it mattered that much. I’m sorry” “I need to get out of here; you better make sure this is fixed before I come home Viv.” And just like that, he walked out, leaving my mom on the floor in a pool of sticky liquid and her tears.

“Are you alright mom?”

“Yes, yes I’m okay. Why don’t you get going, you’ll be late for school.”

“I can help you­“ Before I could even finish my sentence I felt a harsh slap on my cheek, harsh enough to make my ears ring.

“I said you should get going, now” I’d say I’m surprised but I’m not, this happens every time. I’m mostly mad at myself for never learning. No matter how much I wanted the tears to fall, I couldn’t let them; I simply picked up my bag and made my way out the door.

Color Studies My color scheme is rather simple. I went with magenta. The national color for eating disorder awareness is purple and since the purple would clash with the words in my book, I decided to use something that close enough to purple and would send the same message. Yellow is used on this page to allow you to clearly see the colour that is being displayed.

Type Studies For my type studies, I decided to use Bakersville Old Face Regular. I think that that this gives the feeling of reading a physical book that you are reading. It seems simple yet, doable.

Compositions

Final Design I never really understood why people cried at funerals. Eight out of ten they had no real relationship with the person who died or even knew them at all, yet they still made a complete fool of themselves by uncontrollably sobbing. Interesting though, the peoples that cry aren’t the ones you should pay attention to. It’s the people that don’t you have to worry about. Take my funeral as an example. It was the event of the decade. The whole town showed up. Almost everyone from my school was there and they didn’t even like me, people I never spoke to during my time on earth showed up, and family members I didn’t even recall graced my final hours with their presence.

And they all fussed and cried and told heartwarming fibs that moved the crowd. But I didn’t care for them, not one bit. My attention was on the two girls in the back, my ex­friends. The only two people I trusted with my life, ironically enough. We did everything together and were pretty much joined at the hips. While everyone else wailed and carried on, they were stiffer than my ice cold body in that casket.

I don’t even think I saw them blink. Who would’ve thought that they very girls, who swore to protect me, would be the ones to lead me to my demise? Hang on, I’m getting ahead of myself here so while they bawl their eyes out, I’ll tell you exactly what these two did to me. I’m sure I can finish before the pastor blabs along like he knew me. Let me tell you about Anna and Mia. No, I won’t tell you who I am. Because that’s not exactly important, just listen to the story will you? And it’s fast paced, so pay attention.

I met Anna and Mia separately; it was even because of my doing that they became friends. I met Mia when I was in 7th grade. If I remember clearly, it was a Wednesday afternoon, I had just finished a math test that I was sure I failed and if that wasn’t enough, I got word that I was on the verge of failing two of my other classes. The cherry on top though was the ordeal that was waiting for me when I got home. I just couldn’t get a break.

Okay, I know it may sound like I was making a big deal out of nothing but I was a mess. Everything was falling apart around me. I used to enjoy school and be happy to be there but nothing seemed to be going right. I sat in a corner by myself during lunch and cried my eyes out. And that’s when she came to me.

“Why are you crying?”

“Who are you?”

“Forgive me, I’m Mia­“ “Well, what do you want?”

“I have every reason to be grouchy. Nothing in my life seems to be going right.”

“Sounds like you need a friend. Meet me here, same time tomorrow okay? And here, dry your eyes.”

“Wait­“ I didn’t even look up fast enough to see her walk away but as I made my way to my next class strangely feeling much better than I did before.

The next day I did as I was told, I went to meet Mia but she didn’t show up. And to make matters worse, I really needed her. Today was worse than the day before and I really needed someone to talk to.

She never showed up but as I made my way to my next class, I glimpsed a piece of paper that was flapping about under a rock. It was from Mia. Little did I know that after reading that letter, my life would become an even worse nightmare than it was before. Whenever I felt down, she would eat with me, strange tactic but it worked, she fed me to my heart’s content and I was okay with that. Till she started making me feel bad about it. There were days we’d have a lovely meal together and then she’d make me force myself to throw up till my throat burned.

She went from being the sweetest person I knew to a complete monster who constantly made me feel bad for making me eat the food that she would give to me. I tried to get away from her but she wouldn’t let me and eventually I began to understand what she was trying to do. She was trying to make me beautiful.

But she couldn’t do it alone and that’s when Anna showed up. By this time I was already struggling with how my body looked. I was so grateful to Mia for pointing it out otherwise I would have been walking around looking like a hippo.

Anna made me realize that what Mia was helping me do was going to make me beautiful but her method was going to turn me into an angel.

I didn’t think much of it and started doing what Anna told me to. It started with light fasting, then restricting more foods, setting little goals to see how long I could go without eating and eventually she told me I wasn’t even allowed to touch food anymore.

There were days I’d pass out from not eating for such a long time but Anna never let up. That’s when Mia stepped in again. She told me I could eat as much as I want once a week but I’d have to purge until it was all out and Anna agreed with her. It was now two against one, I couldn’t win.

But with school getting even worse and my parents threatening to hurt me, I knew they were the only ones that I could trust. After all, they wanted to make me a beautiful angel right?

Wrong. But by the time I realized that, I was already on my bathroom floor, covered in my own vomit and unable to call for help because my throat felt like it was on fire. I had lost so much weight that I couldn’t stand up even if I wanted to. Anna and Mia were with me the entire time. I asked them for help, I begged them to save me, make me an angel. But they just vanished, just like that, they left me all alone, the same way they found me but this time, I had no way of surviving.

So you see, the two little devils sitting in the back of the church are the ones responsible for my death. I can’t put all the blame on them though, I was the one who followed them blindly. Had I figured out some other way to save myself, change my situation, maybe I would’ve been alive today. But no one can change the past right.

Oh look, told you I’d finish the story before the pastor ends his sermon.

Well I’m off, I hope we never meet again, because if we do, then it’ll be you in that casket and not me.

Oh my name, haven’t you figured that out by now silly, I’m Amia.