Ahmaya Ortiz

Kempsville High School

5194 Chief Trail, Virginia Beach, VA 23464

Ashley Bauman
Kempsville High School
5194 Chief Trail, Virginia Beach, VA 23464

June 6, 2019

Dear Mrs. Bauman:

English class this year has been a lot of hard work. We read many books, some I enjoyed more
than others but all with good purpose. My favorite lesson this year had to be with our choice of a
nonfiction book. This made it personalized for me to actually work on the projects. Reading,
writing, revising and applying english to the future are all ways english plays an important role
on day-to-day living.

Every year there will always be growth with an individual. As an english student there is a lot of
reading and thinking. Having read so many books this year I would say my strengths are being
able to understand what is happening in the book and evaluating the events. Along with being
able to evaluate the text I can find a deeper meaning and how it develops the story. Throughout
the year we have read many books: Siddhartha Gautama, The Giver, Anthem, Lord of the Flies,
and more. My favorite book was Hidden Figures. Hidden Figures was the most interesting
because the story took place in Virginia and was about the success of minority females. The
most challenging had to be Julius Caesar due to the language because it was from
Shakespeare. It was challenging to understand and translate into words that would make sense
to me. My least favorite was Lord of the Flies because I was not interested in the story as much
as the other ones.

Essays were another major part of the class. We wrote many of all different types. The most
challenging piece I had to write this year had to be Lord of the Flies. It was the most challenging
because we had to show the relationship between the book and a certain psychology term. For
me there was just so many terms I wanted to do but applying it to the book was hard. With that I
can learn and grow as a writer. Focusing more on making the paper flow better than focusing on
having too much information. Starting with the Siddhartha Gautama piece I learned how to cite a
book in the text which I did not know before. For most of my essays I received a good grade but
the ones I received a lower grade was because I did manage my time well enough and rushed
to turn it in on time. Next year I have to have better time management to make sure my work is
the best it can be.

Throughout the year with the essays we had to revise them after they were graded. Here is an
example of a revision I made. ​In conclusion, motives of decisions made by an individual change
with the id, ego, and superego. The past sentence is what I had before and the next sentence is
the revision I made. ​Id, ego, and superego changes an individual's motives behind decisions.
This made my conclusion sound better and give it a nice finish. The reason for most of the
revisions made were because a peer suggested it or it was written on the paper by my teacher.
Reading will always play a part in my life. I generally don’t read on my own but if there is a book
that I might be interested in I will read it. Reading is important because it enhances your
vocabulary and introduces you to new things. I usually just read the books assigned in my
english class and none on my own. Reading is paired with writing so reading will help my future
essays better. In the future I will probably do more research essays on books in class and
anything that has to do with business.

In conclusion, this year has been based on a lot of ups and downs. It has shaped me to be the
person I am today. It has made me realize that time management is crucial so that I do not
becoming stressed out. All of the anxiety attacks from late nights doing procrastinated
assignments are not worth it. This year showed me what I don’t want to happen in the future.
That is why my six word memoir is; grow through what you go through. Meaning instead of
letting experiences bring you down use them to grow and create new opportunities. Something I
would tell my past self would be to go back to the old Ahmaya with a better work ethic because
that is the person I should still be. I would say to create a schedule to do homework on time.
Another big thing would be not letting my social life in the way of school. Getting priorities
straight from the start and not waiting to let your life fall apart to realize that.

Sincerely,

Ahmaya Ortiz