Marcus's Character Sketches

His frail figure struggles with the excitement of meeting one of his heroes. Pure joy gleams from his eyes as he whispers with complete adoration – “Spiderman”. A nurse mentions that he suffers from severe muscular dystrophy and doesn’t usually see him so animated. Nevertheless, the boy shuffles through some papers and lifts up his drawing of him and Spiderman playing together. 

Sitting on the sand, soaking in the last glimpses of sunset – “It’s about time. You ready?” He darts toward the ocean, feet flailing behind him like an Olympic sprinter. Knees raises high trying to cut through the giant waves as they overcome him. His body twists and turns as its thrown side to side from oncoming waves. I just sit there. Bewildered. A young child would have done the same, but he’s 26.

Sitting majestically on the porch with her yellow locks flowing in the wind. She sniffs at the air taking in the salty scent with each ocean breeze. Bundled with all fours wrapped in a blanket I placed on her earlier, she glances at each runner as they pass by – longing to join them. After several hours lying motionless, she climbs up letting the blanket slide off, slumping to the floor. Paddling to the door, turning and glairing, she pauses, waiting for me to open it. I get up and slide the screen open while including a, “here you go” as she walks past. She says “thanks” and walks in.

Buckets's Three Character Sketches

1.
He wears two shirts two work: neon green and neon orange. His mustache matches the concrete he pushed. Grey flecks shower his boots, pants, arms. His jokes are sharper than his trowel, honed from years of hard work and boredom. In his work truck lay a bed of Mountain Dew; in the truck bed lay a mountain of work supplies. He is the king of this unfinished house, his crown an indestructible hat.

2.
A nervous twitch jilts his glasses. His wide smile splits the stubble. He likes connections. His shirt matches my companion's name and he steadily slides Hall and Oates lyrics in his comments to recognize mine. Younger than his age, stronger than his looks, he patiently awaits for his own recognition--that we are more than missionaries, and he is more than an investigator.

3.
She walks in spray-tan, like the others. Her fair holds extravagant curves and whirls. Though her black dress sparkles with jewels, she can easily disappear into the mob of competitors. Bolder than her clothes is the wedding band. What is a source of pride in others is her stumbling block to finding a dance partner. But when she adorns it during her routine, her smile beams brighter than skin and garb, and I cheer her on even louder.

Henry's Character Sketches

1. She checks behind her to see if she has space to lean her chair back. She doesn't. After we hit cruising altitude she puts her chair back with no hesitation. The top of her head has some grey on it. As we land she stands up and asks me about my trip. Wearing a long turtle neck AND a scarf. I don't get the point of that. She recommends getting the maple bacon donut next time I'm in Eugene.

2. I haven't seen her in 6 months and she's changed quite a bit. Her stomach is bigger, ankles more swollen, and not nearly as much energy as she usually does. She brings up the baby every five minutes. She gets stressed every time we get close to another car. It's like all of her senses are multiplied by 10. She's refusing her normal 64 oz. Diet Coke and laying off the sweets a lot more than normal. She still finds a way to be happy and pleasant throughout this entire process, though.

3. I have no idea what he is studying. I've been sitting across from him for an hour and a half looking at his scratch paper upside down and still can't make anything out. He's hardly even took a sip of water or taken his eyes off the computer screen. He doesn't seem worried or stressed out, however. He's just casually going about his business doing whatever assignment he's doing. I see lots of numbers and lines, so it's a safe bet that it is math related. I'm not gonna ask him so I guess I'll never know.

Siera's Three Character Sketches

1.She walked down the steps passed the LSB “What year of school are you in?”

“I’m a freshman,” He said. Great. She realized he would have no idea what he was doing and would be unable to draw on passed experiences.

“Are you at BYU or UVU?” he asked.

“BYU” She said, a little taken back. She hadn’t even considered the fact that he might not be going to BYU. He definitely isn’t taking school seriously then. Her disapproval grew.

They continued to small talk, but she was only half listening trying to get into the crux of the matter. “We should probably get together sometime today and plan our activity for tomorrow. Are you going to ward prayer tonight?”

“No. I don’t think so.” He said. Wow. She thought. He doesn’t even want to be part of the ward.

2.I tend to be the type of person that tries to apply principles to every situation and learn from other people’s experiences. My goal is to avoid making mistakes at all cost. This is the complete opposite of my sister. She needs to make a mistake in order to understand something, sometimes make it twice, just to confirm her original conclusion. Today, this situation, it was no exception. As I read the dramatic monologue of a text riddled with mistakes and excuses, my heart dropped. Would she ever learn?

          3.  I sat watching the sun set over sea of Galilee, the lights from Tibreious sparkled. The atmosphere was calm, but I was not.

            “Siera! Can I come sit by you? How are you doing?” Lindy cheerily asked. I was surprised. I responded, “Sure!”

            She sat down next to me and rested on her hands. She held herself tightly but continued on in casual conversation. She told me she had caught a fish this morning and then went exploring with the group. I tried to pay attention as she spoke.

            “I have been feeling like I need to talk to you all week. Not sure why.” She paused.

We sat in silence for a moment. “Are you doing okay?” She continued unsurely.

            “Honestly not really.” I said. I felt her body relax. We just sat in silence for several minutes and I began to feel better.  

Kendal's Character Sketches

Seeing the sun up ahead, she had no fear of freezing. Reaching crowded trial of trees, she noticed the sun peeking through. Light creeping slowly through the leaves, warmed her conflicted heart with ease.The bodies of the leaves full of color, perplexed her mind like thunder.Thunder of the storm she was facing. And the thunder of each cloud that was covering. Each step over the rock-covered ground felt lighter as the leaves empathized with her and her trouble.

As I turned on the light, the creature's shadow projected larger. The light turned him a dark red brown and his details were clearer to me then. Such a simple creature with such complex features.The hairs on each of his legs were as fragile as he was.To think, we have the same creator brought things to light. His story is so different than mine. I didn't know of his travels, but I knew he was just alive as I was until I took that away from him.

She appeared to be a confident soul from Guatemala City, Guatemala, but her heart was in need of much repair. With a halfway bright countenance and smile, she moved forward. Having been raped as a small child, she still carried a large pile of rocks on her back. The difference for her when compared to others who suffered from something similar was that she could still see the light and hope that came only through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Julie's Character Sketches

1. Spencer touches the Giants cap on his head for good luck. He picks up a bowling ball and turns toward Dad. “How much will you give me if I can score a strike with my left hand?”

Dad snorts. “Twenty bucks.” Grinning, Spencer saunters up to the lane and throws the ball with ease. We hear the clack as the ball collides with the pins, scattering them in all directions. He turns around.

“How much will you give me if I do it a second time?”

2. Dad’s eyes dash back and forth between the tv and his phone. One is flashing a report about the stock market while the other is displaying an exciting baseball game. He turns the stove off and heaps our plates with vegetables. We take a bite, pleased with ourselves for producing such a healthy lunch. Then Dad says, “Eh, I can start my diet tomorrow. Do you want to go get some See’s after this?”

3. Freshly baked bread is not an uncommon aroma in our apartment. Every day Chloe strides into the kitchen, her thick hair pulled back in a bun. Curly strands of hair frame her face as she kneads dough. Yesterday it was sourdough with braided ropes of dough circling the loaf. Today she expertly forms her dough in the shape of a rose. After the bread's in the oven, her eyes light up with excitement as she moves on to her next project: putting together a colorful quilt.

Ana's Character Sketches

1. Maxwell effortlessly crawled on top of his changing table. “Watch this!” He yelled as he jumped routinely onto the floor, avoiding any Paw Patrol figurines that covered it. Within five seconds, he was already in position for his next attempt. “Catch me now!” Before I could get ready for his flight, he was already in the air. I stumbled forward to catch him before he landed on the ground.

2. “Okay, guess who’s in my algebra class?” Rebekkah sprinted through the front door, and without even attempting to slow down, she began again, “Amanda! She even tried to talk to me. Apparently, she forgot that we weren’t friends anymore.” They had an on-off friendship since fourth grade—middle school did nothing to help remedy their friendship.  

3. The aroma of wet dog filled the white Honda after a recent lake trip. Nothing could separate Laura from her German shepherd “Gabbilious” (or who everyone else referred to as Gabby). She had always told everyone that no dogs would be allowed in the house because of the hair—it all changed with Gabby. Soon dog hair started appearing in the bed, which surprised us all, as Gabby was Laura’s fourth dog.