World building is an entirely new project for Freestyle, and my year was going to be the first seniors to participate in it. World building is more than just constructing an imaginary realm, it is the home of various characters and thematic stories all holding up a society or some sort of setting. Additionally, we learned that world building actually reflected what was going on in society today or professed a possible future for mankind. This was knowledge was greatly enhanced during our reading of the novel Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, which told the protagonist forming a brand new religion in a deteriorating post-apocalyptic Earth heavily affected by climate change and social inequality.
In my own world, I created a realm similar to that of Narnia with additionally mythological elements. My main character, Philip Cunningham, goes through an extraordinary journey in which he is crowned the Cryptid King (also the title of the story) where he goes from his selfish, jaded self, to a benevolent, open leader as he defends the kingdom of Mythica from a anarchical political party. I have reflected this world through a research essay discussing the importance of limiting freedom of speech in order to sustain balance in both society and politics. I have learned that world building does not just employ imagination, but also the mirroring topics of what is going on in the world currently.
