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emocraig's Journal

Created on 2006-09-19 18:48:54 (#11187940), last updated 2008-10-07

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Basic Info

Name:	Craig Manning

Bio

HISTORY

Craig Manning is a seventeen year old student at Degrassi Community School in Toronto, Canada. Despite his young age, he's been through a lot and handled these life stresses in the best way he knows how.

When he first appears in canon at age fifteen, Craig is a grade 10 student with a penchant for photography and a troubled home life. His father, a well-respected doctor, has a dark and dirty secret. He beats Craig on a regular basis, causing him to throw himself into his photography and trying to ignore the dark moods of his father. Eventually, he moves in with the husband of his late mother, living with him temporarily until his father actually dies, leaving him at Joey's permanently.

After moving in with Joey, life is good. Craig doesn't have to see his father anymore and he has a tight group of friends, even forming a band called Downtown Sasquatch. He goes on to dating, like any teenage boy, and experiences his share of troubles.

Throughout Craig's teenage years, two girls remain the constant object of his affections: Manny Santos and Ashley Kerwin. Manny, a grade 9, showers Craig with unwanted attention. He goes out with her once and realizes that she reminds him of his little sister, so he breaks it off quickly. He then focuses his attentions on Ashley, a relationship that will soon become his first love.

However sweet first love may be, it is also full of heartache. Ashley and Craig break it off when Craig wants to take their relationship to the next level and Ashley isn't ready. In a typically rash move, Craig decides to sleep with Manny, finding her attention flattering and ego-boosting after such a crushing blow. Soon after this happens, Ashley decides to take him back and Craig has to balance both Ashley and Manny without either finding out about the other. He fails and in the process loses his first love, Ashley.

Craig stays single for a while, just working on his music and preparing for university. However, in grade eleven, he is dealt another blow. He stops sleeping and has grandiose ideas, even proposing to Ashley at her father's wedding and trashing a hotel room when she says no. Joey worries about him, wondering why Craig would steal his credit card and beat him to a pulp afterwards. Concerned, both Joey and Ashley make sure that Craig gets checked into a psychiatric facility where he is diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Craig enters The PPTH Portal after his manic episode in the episode Goin' Down the Road.

PERSONALITY

If one were to describe Craig Manning's personality, the first thing they'd come up with is sensitive artist. Both a photographer and a musician, Craig has an incredible eye for detail and a way with words. His sensitivity makes him more perceptive of his environment, noticing things that other people wouldn't notice, such as the beauty of a chord progression or the symmetry of a phrase in a song.

This sensitivity, while useful for artistic pursuits, also leaves him susceptible to intense heartache. Because of his sensitivity, Craig is more likely to see things in extremes. A breakup isn't just a breakup: it's the end of the world. This extremity in his personality is exaggerated by his psychiatric diagnosis of bipolar disorder. A major mood disorder, this affects his personality in several ways.

Bipolar disorder results in two major moon extremes: mania and depression. For Craig, periods of mania are marked by increased productivity and a lack in judgment, causing him to make rash decisions that he regrets later once he comes down.

While manic, Craig is on top of the world. His speech is rapid and incoherent and he often plans large-scale musical projects that he cannot possibly finish. He also turns violent, often attacking those he is closest to in spite of the fact that he'd never do that when "down".

Mania isn't the only aspect of bipolar disorder that affects Craig's personality. He is also affected by depression, which lowers his mood considerably. When depressed, Craig is irritable and sad, withdrawing into a shell and engaging in self-destructive behaviors, such as throwing himself in front of a train. His productivity is lowered and he is unable to do the things he loves most: write and perform music.

While this disease affects his personality in a big way, Craig is, in general, a well-rounded student. He's fairly intelligent and has a large social network. Among his friends, he's the passionate dreamer and brings a sense of fun and spontaneity to his circle. He is charming and that charm attracts girls to him in droves, resulting in hilarity when Craig doesn't know how to handle their attentions. He is a boy driven by passion and, as we all know, passion is best served in moderation. Craig Manning doesn't know the meaning of moderation.

STANDARD DISCLAIMER

I retain no rights to Degrassi: The Next Generation and I am not Jake Epstein. This journal is merely for roleplay at