A Day in the Life of Eric Draven

Project 1

Option 1

It was the eighteenth of January that a song and a movie change the way I looked at my problems and how I felt about them. Early on in the morning I had been thinking about all of the tasks that were facing me for that day and how I could take care of them. Many of these were simple chores around the house or items that I need to fix. But I decided to procrastinate and go for a hike. That afternoon was spent in the Sugarcreek Reserve, a place that helps me to think, due to its' serenity, pondering what I should do about a question that had been plaguing my mind for quite some time. That question was whether or not I should tell Mindi, a young lady with endless beauty that I have been friends with for a long time, if she felt the same way about me as I did about her. I was always too afraid to show her my true feel 11311m1214l ings because I was too afraid of rejection and what would happen between us if she said no. It was that fear that had been holding me down. That question was bouncing around in my head all afternoon and evening. It kept me up for what seemed like an eternity.

After an exhausting afternoon outside deliberating with myself about my problems, I decided to go home and finish my chores for the day, which was an endless task. Yet everything I did I couldn't take my mind off Mindi. This went on until the late hours of the evening. The last time I checked my watch it was around one thirty in the morning. A heavenly, starry sky above and a slight breeze rustled the leaves and swaying the tree limbs back and forth was the setting outside. It was almost as if the night itself was calling for me to visit. In a desperate attempt to escape my feelings and the incessant question, hoping the answer would come someday, I decided to go outside and listen to some music to help me relax. It also gave me some time alone with my thoughts. So I grabbed a coat, since there was a slight nip in the air, my portable CD player and my book of CDs.

Once outside I walked over to the old rickety wooden swing by a tiny grove of pine trees that make a fence around our yard, and made myself comfortable. The leaves were still being blown away by the wind and branches swaying back and forth, I took a glance at the sky above to remark on how beautiful it looked that morning. All of the constellations were out for the world to see. I then opened the book of CDs and chose a CD at random from the vast number that I had accumulated over the years. My choice was The Crow soundtrack. I then place it in the CD player and pressed the shuffle button. The song was "Dead Souls" by Nine Inch Nails, an excellent band and a great song. I then took one more last glimpse at the beautiful majesty of the sky above as if to never see it again. I shut my eyes and my mind took me away to a distant area.

The music took me to a place I have never before. It took me to the scene in the film were a recently risen from the grave Eric Draven was running on the rooftops of a long series of buildings. A new purpose filled his soul now. Revenge. A dark and dismal backdrop of the city displayed his dreary past. The rain was pouring as if a hurricane was taking place. The crow was flying a short distance ahead to lead the way to his first victim. But something was different. I was there and moving much slowly than the scene happened in the film. It was as if every rooftop was a lifetime. It was as if every step I took was a memory I had of pain and anguish that I experienced in my short life span. How could this be, I had taken the place of Brandon Lee, I was Eric Draven. I could feel the rain running down my face and the pure adrenaline rush of taking a leap of faith to the next roof. I could also feel the splash the puddles made as I landed in them. I saw the images he saw in the film, yet I felt my pain and torment from one of my dreadful experiences. Every tear shed was remembered. Every broken heart was shown. Every moment in anger, frustration, and anguish was bouncing around in my head. My journey ended as the final rooftop was at hand. Now only a suicidal leap to the concrete ground waited, and a sure death. I knew what I had to do so I jumped. My eyes closed, I could still feel the rain hitting my face and my body as I fell off the rooftop.

As I was waking up from the dream I could still feel and hear the wind blowing and I could smell the rain. But, I was in the stage of dreaming just before you wake up called mescaline. Then just before I hit the concrete ground I woke up to realize where I was. I was still lying in the swing with my CD player in my coat pocket and the CD book on my chest underneath my coat. But the time and scenery around me had changed. It was no longer a starry sky but a majestic sunrise. The sun rose with luminescent shades of lavender, orange, red and blue. It was almost as beautiful as the person who sent me out into the night was. As I rose I looked out over the yard and saw that fresh morning dew was laid. I then ran my fingers through my hair and over my face. It was incredible and unbelievable that I was soaking wet.

After I woke up a little more I realized that I had found the answer that had been eluding me for quite some time. I decided then and there that it was time to forget about my fears and my worries and just tell Mindi how I felt no matter what the repercussions were. I asked her about it a few days later and still haven't received a response, but we still go out and have a good time holding hands and playing air hockey, one of the games we play when we go out. If we are dating, that is still a mystery to me. I guess it's all up to her and maybe I'll never know, but who cares, we are having fun in each other's company.

After a couple of days I started to analyze the dream and found that the song didn't have as much of an impact on me as the movie did. The song only took me to that particular point in the film because it was being played at that part. The movie was about a man and a woman in love, but their world was turned upside down. They get murdered and the man's soul can't rest because of a great sadness. So he comes back from the dead to set the wrong things right, so he can be reunited with his love on the other side. The movie was about a love that lasted through death and beyond, true soul mates that could never be apart. From this I learned to stop running from my problems and to start facing them until a resolution is achieved. It was time to stop being so afraid. So I decided to follow in the footsteps of Eric Draven and find my problems and eliminate them. Hopefully this will help me in the future and with Mindi. Yet to this day I don't know how I would of reacted or what would of happened if I had chosen another CD.

I learned a lot from the dream and about myself that night. It enlightened me about how not to bottle my feelings up and hide them, but to express how I feel for the whole world to see, even if I can't handle the repercussions. There is no use hiding from them, because they always have a way of finding you. It hasn't been easy but nothing in life ever is. I'll never forget that night and I'll never forget what it has taught me about my problems and myself. It is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and use everyday.