Q2 BLOG 4

Melinda’s character is continuing to develop with the help of an old friend. She redevelops her communication skills and keeps trying to renter the social world. Therefore she starts occasional small talk with Ivy, one of her ex-best friends and realizes how much she misses her comfort. Ivy was the nicest one in the old group of friends and would always listen to everyone. She was also the most artistic, so she was able to help Melinda with her tree project she has to complete in art class.

There was one afternoon at a park with Ivy which commenced the mending of Melinda’s ability to trust. She aided Melinda to express her feelings in her trees. With Ivy’s help, she was able to start believing in herself more often, and became more confident. The way Ivy helped Melinda was a simple gesture, yet without it Melinda might not have started to heal. Ivy merely showed Melinda how to draw tree branches so she wouldn’t have to keep starting over with a thousand new pieces of paper, when her tree was in fact very artistic. Ivy led Melinda to liking her own artwork and appreciating her artistic talent, which was different and involved many emotions by the way the branches would sag, or the colors of the leaves would change. With Ivy’s compliments and approval of Melinda’s artwork, she started to like herself again and hung up some of her artwork in her storage closet where she could gaze at it occasionally. Ivy’s influence was the pivot in Melinda’s life that ensured the rebuilding of Melinda.