Acknowledgements

Sooooo I did not read the directions until after I finished four pages of this (single-spaced) so this is not in the right order and these acknowledgments are not from most to least thankful. They’re in no particular order, especially the first section… hehehe




To start, the part I do not care about at all… sorry not sorry.




It's easy for me to point out the thing I've improved in the most. My confidence. Writing has always been a chore, and for the first time in my life, Monday essays and essays in general are… not fun, but not panic-inducing (it might even fall under neutral good). In the first synthesis essay I struggled to add a lot of analysis and embed quotes smoothly. For example, “Even today,” the mass of men serve the state,” they go with the flow and become violent when faced with beliefs outside their own, see the January 6th Insurrection.” While not terrible, the quote feels abrupt and doesn’t really carry much weight and information. This was also the extent of the analysis I did on the quote, I should have included much more and tied it directly back to my claim. However, in our most recent synthesis essay. I was able to very smoothly tie in quotes and also utilize paraphrasing to express my ideas. In the essay about cheating, I wrote, “This is because many students “would simply be embarrassed to have other students find out they were cheating,” I then had two sentences of analysis for the single quote. When writing rhetorical essays I've also moved away from purely using juxtaposition because it's the only rhetorical feature I know that sounds fancy. In my first rhetorical essay, I used juxtaposition and rhetorical questions as my features; however, in a more recent essay, I was able to discuss the denotation and connotation of the word Latina and the selective use of various languages in order to appeal to audiences. I really wish you graded our very first argumentative essay, I wrote four pages and I still think it’s a bussing essay.




We’ve read so many essays this year, and each has though me something different both in message and in writing.




I'm really glad we read Sarah Vowell’s piece. Without having read her piece I would have never learned the word jingoistic and it would not have become a weekly addition to my vocabulary. Her depiction of what it means to be American really resonated with me and was the first time in class that we really, really, really, really, looked into an essay that I understood.




Thank you so much Lynn Nottage for putting effort and in time into writing Sweat. Having read Sweat felt like part of my life and experience growing up was validated by a mainstream writer. It felt like part of my community had been recognized and their challenges understood and depicted with accuracy and respect.




Virginia Woolf so perfectly captured the limbo like nature of living sometimes. Her use of description and sentence structure as well as tone and word choice was truly something else. Her writing capability was so over my head I don't even know if I was able to learn anything from it. The principal is there, the application…. not yet.




Thank you to Judy Brady who wrote the wonderful piece I Want a Wife. Even if it is satire its message still rings true. She did an amazing job toeing the line between exaggerating too much I'm not exaggerating enough. Making her message all the more impactful. Her piece was a great place to go for satirical examples.




Thank you to F. Scott Fitzgerald, not for The Great Gatsby (that was torture) but for Diamonds as Big as the Ritz. That short story did an amazing job of sending a larger message. The use of allusion went over my head. After we discussed it in class I really saw the impact of putting in Easter eggs for your readers encouraging them to think deeper and connect more with your writing.




Thanks to Art Spiegelman for showing me the power of the pen. His ability to use drawings to portray larger ideas and motifs is something to behold. Even if he is a bit crazy in real life. Reading Maus was the first time I realized so much thought went into graphic novels. Everything has a meaning and everything was done for a reason. It taught me to look deer into everything.




Thank you to Nancy Mairs who's piece I truly resonated with. Being disabled is not something that I'm even close to accepting. Her piece gave me a new perspective. FND is a part of me but it does not define me. It can affect the way I live but it is not the way I live.




Now the part I care about :)




Man, this year… was a year. I moved, learned a lot, grew a lot, got bullied A LOT. Made friends (bullies…🙄). Gave up on school. Didn’t fail calc. I got through this year scarred but better as a person overall.




To Katharina with a C, thank you for panicking with me during chemistry every day when we definitely did our homework the night before. Asking you questions about the writing definitely helped me to think about things much more in-depth than I used to. Being able to talk to you and discuss ideas has been an incredible opportunity.




To Varsha my sunshine, thank you for being so willing to be scared by me every single day almost without fail. Without your help and WhatsApp as a vent for English homework I would not have made it this far.




To Aleezay the Febreezay, thank you for telling me what the English classwork is before class every day. Knowing what we're doing before class starts has been so helpful. Planning how much I can procrastinate has been so so very helpful.




To Ivana the Gorilla, I don’t know how you’ve helped me with regards to English. But you were the first person I trusted enough to tell about my FND. You’ve been a strong support both at 2:00 a.m. and in second hour panicking about not having done the English homework. That does seem to be a common theme.




To Sneha the Snickerdoodle, I'm also not entirely sure how you've helped me with regards to English. If anything you and Ivan have made English harder by constantly making fun of me and distracting me enough that I have to throw pencils at you (it's legally required). But you're advice on my essays (when I've actually done them in a timely manner) has been invaluable, especially with the brainstorming portion.




To Bismaad the Wendy to my Bob, thank you for actually reading my essays even if you didn't read the whole thing. That's much more than most of the people who sit at our table can say. Your ideas for revisions and general support has been invaluable this year (including writing this…) I'm so glad that you no longer sit in that lonely sad corner, I much prefer sitting next to you.




To Shayuri my Favorite, I appreciate you not bullying me during class. I'm also very, very, glad that you actually pick up the in-class papers I would have a C in this class if not for you. Thank you for leaving class prepared because I definitely don't.




To Divya my other Sara, you have helped me so much in calc not English.. But calc is part of school so that should count right? I've learned so much from reading your essays and writing. It showed me that it is possible to write with extreme levels of sophistication even in high school. Having a face to tie to the amazing writing makes it feel so much more obtainable.




To Arya my Short Tinkerbell from the North, I don't even know what to say. I really hope I didn't drool on you today because I’m not so sure. You have very very comfortable thighs, much, much, much, more comfortable than a jacket. Seeing you every morning has given me the strength I need to deal with the four bullies who sit at my table. Your blogs have taught me so much about using voice and anecdotes to tell deeper stories. Your storytelling ability is something I envy.




To Clara my Boba Ghost Queen, thank you so much for letting me call you crying multiple times this year. Thanks for going way out of your way to get copies of my old writing, you are an actual angel. You’ve taught me so much about writing since the 9th grade, also you let me copy your Spanish homework. So… you could argue that I learned about writing in Spanish and English a double whammy. Look at you the bilingual teaching Queen. While reading your writing has made me question life, it's been a great place to look towards for inspiration and what is possible.




To Tanner Mr. Future President, thank you for giving me confidence in the times that I've not had it. Without your words of encouragement I think I would have dropped out of school a long time ago (also as grateful as I am for the 4:00 a.m. call you really need to sleep more or sleep at all). You have no idea how much you mean to me and how much I look up to you (literally and figuratively). I need your inches, please just give me three of them. I'll even settle for two, just give me some.




To Mrs. Wade, I don't have a nickname for you that would be kind of weird… You really were the first teacher to see any sort of writing potential in me. Whether it be talking after school or you listening into me venting to your poor children after school, you’ve taught me so much. Your advice has been invaluable. There was one specific conversation where you really made me see that the people of the past and educators of the past do not have a say in who I will be in the future. That discussion will stay with me forever even if you don't remember it. That realization was a really big turning point in not only my journey as a writer but also in my mindset overall. I need to find a really weird frog for you.




Last but not least to Mrs. Valentino, I also don't have a nickname for you but that would also be very weird… this is the first year I have truly felt confident in anything I've written or taken pride in it. you've done so much in repairing the damage done by others. But I am salty about the Sonia Sotomayor essay, I really think I did better than a 90% (but nobody asked me). I have so much more to learn I can't even comprehend how much more there is. Thank you for not shutting down all our shenanigans (all my shenanigans). English class truly has become a safe space to not only learn but also discuss and grow. And as a student that is the ultimate accomplishment for a teacher.