Creative writing has given me many new friends and relationships. Since the beginning of the year, we have been doing community building activities almost every single day. We are currently in our film poem unit, making short videos and experimenting with props, camera angles and cinematography while incorporating what we already know about writing into our films. For our second film poem assignment, we were to make a short video as a gift to our partner, a randomly selected person in creative writing. I was a little nervous going into this assignment as I didn’t have any prior knowledge on creating videos and short films. The thought of having to put together a video for someone else intimidated me. But as my partner and I began interviewing each other, asking any questions we felt would be helpful in creating our videos, I quickly became very excited not only to make a video, but also to learn more about my partner. 

My partner and I talked for over an hour, going into detail about our childhoods, our biggest pet peeves, our families and so much more. Before this assignment I had never really talked with my partner, so this experience was enlightening and exciting. Seeing everyone in creative writing bonding with their partners and learning about each other was so much fun. After the interviews, we were given the weekend to create the videos. 

Over the weekend, I thought about how I would make the video for my partner. I looked over our interview and dabbled in a few different video making websites. Although my video did not look professional by any means, I had a wonderful time creating it and an even better time becoming closer with my partner.  Once the videos were due, they were all put into a folder. The real treat of this project was getting to watch the video that my partner made for me. When I opened the video, I never would have expected what would play before me. My partner had gifted me with a 1 minute animation including my pet rabbit I told her about, with the song in the background being my favorite song from my childhood. Watching this video made me tear up. It brought me back to a simple time in my life and the overall craft of the video was incredibly impressive. This assignment has gifted me with a keepsake that I will cherish eternally, and once again reminded me of the magic of creative writing.