Dear Junior,
If there is one thing AP English 11 taught me, it’s that there is so much pain and sadness in this world. And struggling. And depression. And stress. Particularly in our world in Ms. Serensky’s class. From all the late nights reading, doing SOAPSTones, and worrying over in-class essays; I want what you so effortlessly have. You say, “I’d like one of those for myself. A life”, but face it Junior, at my age, you had a steady girlfriend, you were extremely intelligent—despite your rough family life, you had a lot going for you (186). And now you’re throwing that life quite away with your drugs and alcohol. Try to see the positives in your life before it deteriorates further. Things can change for the better if you let them. For example, in my very first in-class writing assignment of AP English 11, I believe I wrote a total of three sentences. I felt “paralyzed by the fear that I [would] screw it up,” so I spent minutes frozen in fear trying to perfect each sentence (99). I received a rubric score of 2 on that essay and now I look back in amusement at how far I’ve come. When you start at 2, there is nowhere to go but up. Likewise, you can turn your life around. Even with Amy gone and the apocalypse in the near future, there can shine a light at the end of the tunnel for you. There is hope yet, Junior. You worried me when you cried that “any effort to escape was futile. That’s what the past year has felt like” (98). Sure, Junior, we all feel that way. In fact, regarding my past year in AP English 11, I may have said those exact words. Often times I feel that there is no escaping the AP English classroom. However, I dare say Harriet Jacobs felt just as trapped as you, and she endured for seven years! At least you don’t live in a closet, you’ll always have that.
Sincerely,
Mary Beth
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