First Love Theory – Mini Book

Reflections

Writing: When I first started my poem, it was more like a raw thought in my head than a crafted piece of writing. I was reflecting on my breakup, the weight of losing someone who was once a support system, and wondering if they were feeling the same emptiness. My first draft was just a shell: simple lines, little description, just me spilling out what I felt. As I moved through each iteration, I began to think about how to add more imagery and emotion to capture not only what I was saying, but what I wanted the reader to feel. I experimented with line breaks, descriptive language, and shifting the order of ideas. For example, I eventually decided to end with the question, “Do you feel it too?” because it leaves the thought lingering, just like the shadow in the poem. That shift came from realizing that I wasn’t just describing a feeling, I was reaching out with it. The most challenging part was finding the right voice to express my emotions, moving beyond the straightforward telling to something layered and poetic. By the final draft, I felt like I had taken the shell of my idea and filled it with the language and imagery it deserved.
Bookmarking: Decorating my poetry book was both exciting and challenging, because I enjoy being creative but I don’t consider myself a strong artist. I knew I wanted to visualize the “shadow” that is such a central image in my poem, but I had to find ways to show it without relying on detailed drawings. That’s where I came up with symbolic touches—dark shadows drawn under hearts, fraying strings holding things together like fragile emotions, and footprints that suggest the shadow is always following. The yellow and black hands became another symbol, showing warmth and memory even though the shadow is dark. The color scheme partly came from what I had available, like running out of red paper, but it ended up working perfectly, since the yellow and black together represent the duality of grief and comfort. My cover photo, a woman in haze, added another layer of meaning by showing the confusion and questioning at the heart of the poem. Overall, the book might look chaotic, but that reflects the emotions behind it: messy, layered, and overwhelming. My hope for the synergy between the words and visuals is that the reader feels the same mix of pain, warmth, and questioning that shaped the writing process itself.