Clorica: A Narrative Character Portrait by Elizabeth Leung (2014)

Clorica, my character, is a 12 year old poet. She attends one of the best private schools in the area and enjoys a luxurious and easygoing lifestyle thanks to her parents' success. Both her parents are preoccupied with work and she has no siblings, so she grew up with little human contact besides the housekeeper, whom she was taught to disregard. She reveres classical poetry and believes modern poetry to be a ''disgrace'' to the art form. Clorica's black, plain colored shirt and perfectly straight hair highlight her adoration of and adherence to tradition and formalities. Although she is talented in her poetry, her derision of public school students and modern poets cause her to look down on others; as a result, few people approach her, and she mainly keeps to herself. Her isolation is depicted with the empty black background behind her. Being a loner does not bother Clorica, as she believes that poetry is all that she needs. Poetry is an outlet for her to channel her thoughts and emotions through. She sits with her legs curled up against her, a comfortable and relatively casual pose as the time she spends writing poetry is the only time Clorica ever relaxes. In the photo, Clorica adopts a faraway look as she ponders what type of poem she should write next. Her mind wanders into another world as she stares into space. Her book of poetry, which she takes everywhere with her, lies on her knees to symbolize how her entire life revolves around her poetry. She holds a pen with which to scribe every one of her thoughts into poetry.