63. Make an encouraging banner.
62. Make an educational public plaque.
61. Describe your ideal government.
60. Write a press release about an everyday event.
59. Interview someone who has experienced war.
58. Record the sound that is keeping you awake.
57. Lipsync to shy neighbor's Garth Brooks cover.
56. Make a portrait of your friend's desires.
55. Photograph a significant outfit.
53. Give advice to yourself in the past.
52. Write the phone call you wish you could have.
51. Describe what to do with your body when you die.
50. Take a flash photo under your bed.
49. Draw a picture of your friend's friend.
47. Re-enact a scene from a movie that made someone else cry.
46. Draw Raymond Carver's Cathedral.
45. Reread your favorite book from fifth grade.
44. Make a "LTLYM assignment".
43. Make an exhibition of the art in your parent's house.
42. List five events from 1984.
39. Take a picture of your parents kissing.
38. Act out someone else's argument.
37. Write down a recent argument.
36. Grow a garden in an unexpected spot.
35. Ask your family to describe what you do.
34. Make a protest sign and protest.
32. Draw a scene from a movie that made you cry.
31. Spend time with a dying person.
30. Take a picture of strangers holding hands.
29. Make an audio recording of a choir.
27. Take a picture of the sun.
26. Design an article of clothing for Mona to crochet.
25. Make a video of someone dancing.
24. Cover the song "Don't Dream It's Over".
22. Recreate a scene from Laura Lark's life story.
20. Take a family portrait of two families.
19. Illustrate a scene or make an object from Paul Arensmeyer's life story.
18. Recreate a poster you had as a teenager.
16. Make a paper replica of your bed.
15. Hang a windchime on a tree in a parking lot.
14. Write your life story in less than a day.
13. Recreate the moment after a crime.
12. Get a temporary tattoo of one of Morgan Rozacky's neighbors.
11. Photograph a scar and write about it.
9. Draw a constellation from someone's freckles.
8. Curate an artist's retrospective in a public place.
7. Recreate 3 minutes of a Fresh Air interview.
5. Recreate an object from someone's past.
3. Make a documentary video about a small child.
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The Oliver Family Reports Assignment #53 Give advice to yourself in the past. Carol Oliver |
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Advice to Carol, January 1987, Age 29 1. Rebel harder against those who profess to have your best interest at heart. 2. Reassure Michael that you know intuitively what's best for you and Jamie. 3. Go to The Farm. 4. Don't be afraid. It's been done forever. 5. Trust no one except Michael, those you can trust are too young to help you. 6. Leave Panama City while your illusions are still intact. 7. Don't deceive yourself that a grandchild will change your mother's allegience. She made her choice long ago. It's not you. 8. Save yourself from the agony of working out all the repercussions in therapy later by trusting yourself now. 9. Fight to have your son how you like, not just keep him how you like. 10. Talk about religion and how to impart it to your children. 11. Show your spiritual side more. 12. Let Jamie come in his own time, not at the convenience of others. 13. Use knives only when necessary. 14. Insist they move the screen. 15. Don't send the letter. It won't have the effect you're hoping for. It will only provide him a way to manipulate the ending to be your fault, far-fetched as that sounds. 16. Don't expect help. They all have their own lives already. 17. You're still and always will be the outsider. Proximity cannot equal flesh and blood. 18. Blood may be thicker than water, but it's not thicker than semen. 19. Fight against being a homebody. Don't make going out such a foreign concept that it becomes uncomfortable. 20. Set a date night. Spend a little on it. It's worth the investment. Budget for it. Always. |