E M I L Y S A W Y E R
"You never realized the worth of something until you've lost it."P L A C E H O L D E R Emily Aurora Sawyer ______________________________________________________ June 19, 2003 | 16 | Mixed ______________________________________________________ Bi-sexual | ♀ | Single ______________________________________________________ Sophomore (10) | Senior Ring | Little Brown Bat | D E T A I L E D A P P E A R A N C E: Emily is a very lith and slender individual, with little to no hint of strength in her form. Some of her old friends use to joke that you could blow her over if you blew hard enough. She stands at five foot and seven inches, something her mother said came from her father’s side. Her auburn hair has a habit of crimping up into tight curls that go all over the place. Because of this, she often ties it into a messy ponytail in back. On her ears are easily seen hearing aids. Recently she soft purple highlights in her hair to livening it up. She observes the world through forest green eyes. They go surprisingly well with her sand beige skin color which can some times burn under the sun. When it comes to her clothes, Emily’s imagination and practicality mix together. She rarely wears the same outfit within the same week, but she does have some favorites. one consists of form-fitting capris with a white, round neck blouse and split sleeves. Tennis shoes decorated with sharpie graffiti on the toe and heel. It gives it the right amount of uniqueness in her mind. On a simple glance, her outfits can appear to be of high quality. With a closer look, they are obvious thrift store copycats with her own personal touch added to it. M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S: I’ve never played a deaf character so I wanted to try something new. I can’t say for sure how well I’ll do, but I will do my best to be respectfully portraying it. I wanted to write Emily’s journey as someone overcoming a difficult time in her life. At this point, she feels is both guilty and blameless for the accident. I want to see her go from her current guilt and depressed state into a woman that will meet the challenges and overcome them in her own way. Above everything, I want to show that her deafness doesn’t define her, but is merely a reason to be stronger. Along the way, I want her to make friends. Ones that both understand her and show her that she isn’t helpless as she thinks she is. |
C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:
Last year, Emily was a happy, carefree teenager. Life tossed her a curveball. While she was coming back from a late-night party drunk, the driver hydroplaned. He crashed into a nearby lake. It killed two of the passengers, but Emily and one of her older brothers’ friends survived. Out of the four victims, she only suffered hearing loss. For the past half a year, she has been living with the survivor's guilt, grief and adjusting to being deaf.
After the accident, Emily’s condition left the family with a ton of medical bills. Though they attempted to stick it out, eventually her father felt it was best they moved. He had received a better job offer in New Hampshire forcing them to leave good ol’ Michigan. By the time of their arrival, they were down to a family of three. That was about six months ago.
She is considered an intelligent, resourceful and observant individual. Even with the inability to hear she has the desire to be rather social when given the chance. It’s evident by her wild hand gestures in her signing, her animated expressions, and body language. Her parents say sometimes it feels like her emotions are nearly infectious.
Since the accident, Emily has felt there’s a wall between her and the world. One created by her deafness. Communicating with those who don’t understand Sign Language or the value of lip-reading has been her biggest challenge. To combat it, she has tried to read lips and bring a notebook with her whenever her aid isn’t around. People that don’t face her during conversations frustrate her since she can’t read their lips. While it might not be perfect, she can at least get a basic meaning.
During summer break, her family received a letter from Mather Memorial. For her parents, the school had a reputation for leaving no student behind. It would enhance her education and recover the ground she lost recently. Emily saw this as a new start. She could only pray she could make it past the first day without wanting to hang herself.
After the accident, Emily’s condition left the family with a ton of medical bills. Though they attempted to stick it out, eventually her father felt it was best they moved. He had received a better job offer in New Hampshire forcing them to leave good ol’ Michigan. By the time of their arrival, they were down to a family of three. That was about six months ago.
She is considered an intelligent, resourceful and observant individual. Even with the inability to hear she has the desire to be rather social when given the chance. It’s evident by her wild hand gestures in her signing, her animated expressions, and body language. Her parents say sometimes it feels like her emotions are nearly infectious.
Since the accident, Emily has felt there’s a wall between her and the world. One created by her deafness. Communicating with those who don’t understand Sign Language or the value of lip-reading has been her biggest challenge. To combat it, she has tried to read lips and bring a notebook with her whenever her aid isn’t around. People that don’t face her during conversations frustrate her since she can’t read their lips. While it might not be perfect, she can at least get a basic meaning.
During summer break, her family received a letter from Mather Memorial. For her parents, the school had a reputation for leaving no student behind. It would enhance her education and recover the ground she lost recently. Emily saw this as a new start. She could only pray she could make it past the first day without wanting to hang herself.
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:
Hearing Aids: These only allow Emily to hear very loud sounds. Think explosions, sirens and things in that range. It’s muffled at best. Because of this, Emily still relies heavily on sign language.
Sign Language Dependence: Emily is still learning the language. Some times she needs things repeated and slower. However, she has enough knowledge down that she can hold a normal conversation.
Familiar: Emily’s bat is larger than a normal bat, but not enough to be monstrous. It has a little habit of not fully following the nocturnal sleep cycle that its other flying brethren do. Occasionally you’ll see it hidden in a local tree or fluttering from one hiding spot to another. It always remains close by as if waiting for something.
Conduit: Unable to wear the ring, she looped through a delicate-looking chain and hung it on her neck. On closer examination, it is sterling silver with a large emerald in the center. The design indicates a male senior ring and holds special meaning to her. It has the words Tysonville Hawks engraved around the gem. On the sides are Charles and the year 2016. It holds heavy sentiment to her since she is never seen without it close by.
Mix-Heritage: Emily is a bi-racial child. Her mother is Caucasian and her father is African American, giving her family a wide range of color. She took after her mother while her brothers took after their father.
Sign Language Dependence: Emily is still learning the language. Some times she needs things repeated and slower. However, she has enough knowledge down that she can hold a normal conversation.
Familiar: Emily’s bat is larger than a normal bat, but not enough to be monstrous. It has a little habit of not fully following the nocturnal sleep cycle that its other flying brethren do. Occasionally you’ll see it hidden in a local tree or fluttering from one hiding spot to another. It always remains close by as if waiting for something.
Conduit: Unable to wear the ring, she looped through a delicate-looking chain and hung it on her neck. On closer examination, it is sterling silver with a large emerald in the center. The design indicates a male senior ring and holds special meaning to her. It has the words Tysonville Hawks engraved around the gem. On the sides are Charles and the year 2016. It holds heavy sentiment to her since she is never seen without it close by.
Mix-Heritage: Emily is a bi-racial child. Her mother is Caucasian and her father is African American, giving her family a wide range of color. She took after her mother while her brothers took after their father.