Cover Letter

        Good day, Professor Garfinkel. I hope all is well when reading this cover letter. Without further ado, I will start. When writing this essay, I wished to discuss a straightforward topic that remixes the question asked and can show growth, and with that, I found an exigence. With this, I decided to pick something related to foreign languages besides English, as all the foreign languages I learned came with some challenges with meeting expectations or just understanding. Such an idea will capture the audience and help with interpreting my writing. I wanted to pick a straightforward topic, so I made the topic clear by using a well-known language, a story with a clear beginning and end, or, at the very least, leaving the reader with an understanding of what will come next. Therefore, with the audience being you and everyone else in mind, I decided to write in a way anyone can understand. But, if you know figurative language or video games, you can enjoy more of the writing. But, knowledge of these topics is unnecessary for the whole picture. Due to the nature of this assignment, I wanted to be able to add more creativity by setting the goal of remixing the task. I decided to pick a language that I had not used all my life but one that, at the very least, challenged my understanding, which was Spanish. With that, I used something my teacher told me once to tell a story about my worry about Spanish, not because I was inexperienced per se, but more bothered as Spanish was my non-native language, and I thought I would immediately struggle. I wanted to do the remix part, as this allowed me to be more expressive and, as the syllabus says, “develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.” For example, Rahmeen and Matthew, my peers, discussed how I was immensely descriptive with the essay and how that helped paint the story I was writing. 

        My peers said shortening the essay, as you said, Professor Garfinkel, would still allow me to be clear and drive my point home. By applying that feedback, I realized that I developed a better way to express my ideas to my audience, like you and anybody, such as a teacher or student, that is rich in detail and full of valuable lessons while getting straight to the point at the same time. Also, the most meaningful insight I gained in this assignment is a reminder of pathos. I focused on picking something that suited the criteria for the assignment and accommodated my criteria, as I wanted to submit my best work. But with my peers and you, Professor Garfinkel, I accomplished this, allowing my writing to be transparent and honest to my audience, appealing to emotions, primarily of the reader. I talked alot about my audience as I wish anyone reading my writing to learn and spread the knowledge of said lesson. Professor Garfinkel, thank you very much for reading this, and with that, I hope you have a wonderful day while and after reading my literature piece “Reading from Inside.”

Reading from Inside 

Figure 1: My Poem on a Figurative Take on My Thoughts Towards “Don’t read.” 

        “Don’t read,” Sr. DC said as I walked up to one of the pinnacle moments in my Spanish adventure. But wait, don’t read? No other term in Spanish, not even a “No leer.” Will he say this to anyone else? I mean, does this show how he expects my presentation to go… Ironically, I would think this was what would plague my mind if my Spanish teacher were to say that to me at the end of my Advanced Spanish 3 class. Yet, what I thought differed.

        Challenging a seemingly impossible feat became a lifetime journey. That is the description I will give of my journey of learning Spanish. Until 10th grade, I perceived Spanish as a subject requiring optimal effort to excel. Yet, when the day of me being asked to take Spanish Two Native or not in my 10th-grade Spanish class came around, I sang off-key. I told myself that Spanish Two Native would be the next closest thing to a Spanish Honors class. Plus, one question itched my curiosity. If I could take this class, what would that mean for me? Curious about discovering this meaning, I was quick to pick the Native class when my turn came, half-assuming he would be quick to say something along the lines of reminding me of this being a Native class as a way of asking are you sure? Yet, all he said was, “Ok, just make sure you do some Duolingo.” Wait, I thought, non-natives can take native classes? After the summer, I started a new semester in Spanish Two Native, seemingly the only fish out of water. Yet, this was nothing more than a fact that did not hinder but motivated me to strive toward being a proficient Spanish speaker. I quickly saw the native class not as a requirement but as a game needing the highest score to reap the best rank, something like an S rank. After Spanish Two Native, I progressed to Spanish Three Native with this mindset numbing my fear of waking to a land where I would be a fish that…could be perhaps out of earth. 

        My teacher for this year, Sr. DC, primarily spoke in Spanish, as we were “native students.” So we must do all of this class in Spanish, and even though I would humor the fact that the school changed the class to an advanced class, this further proves his point of needing to talk to us in Spanish.  While my heart played a melancholy tune of dread, a ray of hope was my muse to strategize how to get through this class. After making mental scripts for our presentations, preparing what I wanted to write for my written test, and simulating what Sr. DC could ask me if he tested me on my conversational Spanish, the class I used to fear looking at the clock out of not wanting to prolong my doom became an I dreaded to end. Then came the final presentation of the semester, which I did in Spanish and the first week for extra credit, as the coal for my flame was replenished with my progress so far.

        Then, the day came with my stomach churning as I walked up to the front of the class. 

Figure 2: The Introduction to My Presentation

        …And then I was told not to read… I remember thinking two vivid thoughts that zipped through my mind…in under 10 seconds. Does Sr. DC presume I will be like a regular old student and read? No way, he has seen me with the stuttering I had with each statement as I gave my all to say my thoughts… even though he usually did not mind me using English due to my effort. The times I would ask him if he liked Minecraft in Spanish. All the time, I asked him if what I said in English was what he said in Spanish. The way my classmates were rooting for me, not just as some non-native speaker but as Michael Nwogu, reaching his dream of achieving an S rank. I know he saw this, especially in Spanish. He even called me one of his best. So, I was quick to make another conclusion. Maybe…all he wanted was for me to flap my wings and beat the odds like I always did with the challenges he threw at me. Because, fun fact, others had scripts and read from the slides, akin to a narrator of a TV show. Yet, he said nothing, neither before nor after. So I supposed he wanted me to be me and do my best, just like everyone expected me to do in this presentation.  He must have seen that paper and switched the game mode of Native Spanish to hardcore for me, the setting I have always been starting Spanish with, all for me to do best. So, with this realization, I quickly got up on the stage. With a combination of Spanish and English to clarify any misunderstanding, I finished the presentation. In addition, I triggered a discussion about the importance of medicine in Spanish with my classmates, guys you usually could hear a pin drop with when everyone else was presenting, were asking numerous questions while Sr. DC provided his insight on the matter. I wondered if I ever got the extra credit but found out that my other assessments received the credit since I got a perfect score on the presentation.

        This beautiful adventure started from a mere challenge to have a fish out of water story in Spanish. Yet, along the way, I realized I just wanted to do what I was already doing, go against expectations, and cherish that experience as that was what taking that class meant. I remember the joy I would feel being able to convey what I love in Spanish, talking about the pains of the verb tense in Spanish, all the times we roared in confusion and worry as we were told we had to speak only in Spanish. So, as I was in the taxi heading to college, the taxi driver said something along the lines of, “¿Tu español es muy bien, porque?” Me, with a smile akin to the sun, “Oh, yo aprendí español en escuela secundaria.” I should have added “ También, porque yo realmente querido un rango S…”

Figure 3: The Script for That Day

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