Annotated Artifacts

Annotated Artifacts

Trivialization Research

I did research into the trivialization of mental disorders last year. As someone who has struggled a lot with mental health in the past, this research was incredibly important and relevant to me. I am continuing this research in other classes; I hope to bring awareness to trivialization of OCD - specifically how impactful it can be with those who suffer with the disorder.

The Shadowstalker Brylesana

When I was young, I had incredibly low self-esteem. I had this need to be anyone but myself, so I started writing fantasy stories so I could create a version of myself that was powerful - everything I am not. There are two characters who have effected me so much they actually shaped my personality - Adrianna Ruthada and Brylesana. The character of Brylesana has taught me how to take adverse environments and use them to harden myself. She has taught me resilience and how to fight for myself and what I believe in.

SURPRISE!!! Florida!!!

I was born and raised in Wisconsin, but my family moved to Florida when I was thirteen years old. Moving to Florida has been an adventure, to say the least. To put it bluntly, the people in Florida are crackheads - very eccentric and flat-out stupid sometimes. Moving to Florida meant that I was considered to be one of those eccentric people. It has taught me to be silly, even though my humor is dark and dry most of the time. Furthermore, I love the ideas that people have when I say I am from Florida - particularly that of the infamous "Florida Man."

Dialogue

Trivialization Research - A

Brylesana Story - B

Florida - C

A as compared to B - Trivialization Research as compared to the story of Brylesana

Trivialization research and Brylesana's story both have mental health themes - trivialization research is more academic while Brylesana's story is a fictional telling. Both of these require out-of-the-box thinking; trivialization does not have a measure yet, so I needed to figure out how to measure something that had no specified survey yet. Brylesana's story is one that has evolved as I have grown older. While writing creative stories, you need to figure out who the character is. It is not just writing about something cool - it is writing about a character who is real in another world. That requires a level of thinking and openness.

B as compared to C - Brylesana as compared to Florida

These are both personal landmarks for me. Moving to Florida led to me taking myself less seriously because of the environment and reputation of Florida. I was able to start over while in Florida. I have always considered myself to be strange - my sense of humor is quite dark, and I absolutely hate people my own age - but moving to Florida showed me that it was okay to embrace that strangeness. Brylesana also taught me a lot about myself, such as it is okay to not be happy all the time and have darker parts of yourself. Writing Brylesana's story allowed me to channel parts of myself that I can not in the real world.

C as compared to A - Florida as compared to Trivialization Research

These artifacts, I think, could be considered contradictions of each other. Trivialization can be summed up by one phrase I am sure we have all heard - "I am SO OCD!" This statement is trivializing because OCD is constantly used to describe a personality trait - typically organizational in nature. Florida, as stated previously, is an extremely eccentric place where a lot of strange things occur on a daily basis. There are a lot of different personalities in Florida. In contrast, trivialization occurs when an individual tries to "become a member of the OCD club." It occurs when an individual, on some level, thinks that having OCD is a benefit and that their life would be improved if they had OCD. So, in Florida, differences are embraced, but in trivialization, individuals want the benefits of OCD: they all believe they are the same with this one disorder.

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