Branches Book

BRANCHES

Author’s Statement: Polina Chepenko

My passion project is the short story, “The Creeping Amelia,” which explores the travels of a young girl who ventures outside her home to look for answers about her missing parents. Along the way, she encounters struggles and successes, and her actions show how individuals make decisions and how humans and nature interact. Throughout my life, one of my biggest interests has been psychology, or the study of individuals’ minds. In my story, the protagonist often wants to know and understand her circumstances. However, she is unable to get answers from her sister, so she becomes agitated and begins to use the defense mechanism of acting out. More specifically, when Amelia has trouble expressing her wishes and meeting her needs, she reacts in extreme ways and turns her emotions into behavior. At the same time, she finds guidance in her core personality trait of openness to experience, which allows her to travel and explore the world. Therefore, my studies have greatly influenced Amelia’s character, and in turn, they established a base for her travels across the nation.Another personal passion that I applied to this project is the natural world. During my trips to various locations within the United States, I always made sure to document the environment, photographing trees, lakes, and mountains. The unpredictability of nature served as an inspiration for Amelia. Accordingly, her descriptions of the natural elements within the story parallel her actions and emotions. Thus, nature becomes an influence on her psychology. Therefore, my intentions for my passion project are to portray the complexity of human life and to show how people interact with past events, present feelings, and the environment around them. Marie, George, and the policemen are added to the story to display the roles that individuals play in each other’s lives and the influence of discussions and relationships. Finally, Amelia’s confusion and desire for a better life display her essential needs, and in the end, they serve as the guideline for the entire story.

28