Dear Ms. Langley,
This year has definitely been quite the experience. It feels as if the year lasted forever, and I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it is coming to a close. Although there were many challenges and difficulties throughout this year, I am so glad that you were here to support and guide me through it. As I reflect over this year, I think about the fact that I truly and honestly did learn so much from this year.
To begin, at the beginning of the year, I came into APlang with the confidence that I was already a great writer with a minimum amount of things left to learn. I quickly discovered that this mindset was completely incorrect. Throughout the year, I learned and discovered new things about myself that I did not know before. For example, I learned that although I am not too fond of timed writing, I am able to complete an entire essay within a limited amount of given time. I also learned that my knowledge has increased significantly as I have now developed an understanding of how to approach various types of essays and provide explicit details to support my thesis and claims on the topic of discussion. Tackling assertions, essays, rhetorical analysis, argument, and synthesis essays have allowed me to become accustomed to approaching prompts with confidence as we have done so much practice and preparation over the course of this school year.
Next, on the subject of reading, I believe that I have improved in comparison to last year and maybe even last semester. Although I have seen improvement within myself, this is the same area in which I also have much room for more development. I really enjoyed that a lot of the reading that we did was books of our choice, but I also really enjoyed reading the books that were selected for us. I loved reading Citizen and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, I loved reading books that I could relate to and that reflected my racial background. With the assertions that we did, I also enjoyed reading those as well. I loved reading and evaluating the mentor texts, gaining a new perspective on various types of writings, and just being able to analyze and deeply interpret the texts.
Lastly, writing reflections on a regular basis has caused me to see my improvement and development throughout the school year. I have realized that from my very first letter to this letter, although I may reference the same concepts, my character has changed significantly. The reflections have allowed me to see that, as a person, my strongest area is writing, while my area for improvement is reading. I learned about myself, that I am not perfect, as no individual is. I learned that I have so much more to improve on, but I also realized that I will continue to improve each day as long as I am putting forth the effort to learn and experience new things, while also asking for help when I need it.
In conclusion, the grade that I would give myself is a 98. I feel that over this year, despite all the challenges and uncertainty, I have worked hard to push myself to get through the year and do my best to stay on top of my work. Although there are still many areas for improvement, I am proud of myself and know that I did the best that I could. I am so thankful for this year and for having the opportunity to be taught by you for another year. Thank you so much for everything and I hope that you and your family are doing well. Congratulations on your new grandson!!!
Thank you so much,
SaNaya White
SaNaya's Poetry Blog 