Letter

Dear Mr. Coon,

My history as a reader and a writer began in kindergarten like most American children’s. I learned how to read and write and then ceased to enjoy either of these activities for three or four years. I can’t remember why. I think I just liked math better.
In third grade, I learned to enjoy reading when I discovered the Babysitter’s Club series by Ann Martin. I read her books throughout elementary school and part of middle school. In middle school I participated in a competition called "Battle of the Books." For this, we were given a list of four or five books to read in two months and then participated in three "battles" where we answered reading comprehension questions about these books. The books we read were from many different genres, which led me to realize that my two favorite genres were historical fiction and fantasy, something that holds true to this day.
Once I arrived at PCDS, I admittedly stopped reading nearly as much as I did in middle school. I found it difficult to read the books I was assigned to read while reading books for pleasure. I also discovered that, after a day of school and not enough sleep the night before, when I tried to sit on the couch and read, I would fall asleep.
I still read a couple books a year because I do enjoy reading, and learning from the books I read. One of the reasons I love historical fiction is that I delight in the random facts I learn from it. My least favorite thing about reading is that even a good book can easily make me fall asleep. My favorite thing about reading is the sense of contentment I get from reading a good book.
In fourth grade, I learned to love creative writing. I enjoyed writing short stories and poetry. When I got to middle school, I decided that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up because I loved all the writing assignments I was given. In high school, however, I stopped writing as much because I stopped enjoying it. I didn't like the analytical or research papers we now had to write. They weren’t nearly as fun as writing stories, poetry, summaries, or articles.
I also have issues sitting down and actually writing a paper. I love to participate in class discussions, but conveying my ideas in writing is hard for me. My writing has improved significantly since freshman year but the process of writing is still challenging for me. I tend to procrastinate because of this.
Last semester, Ms. Garagiola's class helped remind me what I enjoy about writing. I loved the assignments she gave us and I was actually proud of the essays I wrote for her—something I can only say about a limited number of my other papers throughout high school.
That’s it for now. See you in class!

Sincerely,
Ally

P.S. I realize that I went over the word count and that each word of this postscript I type makes that offense even greater. Oops. I’ll try not to let it happen again. (524 words, 491 sans post script)