Lauren's+Cover+Letter

==== My middle school/ high school was a college prep school. So from grade 6 to my last year there, Black River was completely focused of academics. We as students had a lot of difficult courses. They all were focused on preparing you for what college was to bring for you. One of the most challenging was my high school English class. My teacher pushed and pushed constantly for us to do better. Paper after paper was edited and scrutinized by her. Each and every paper was exactly as the one before, perhaps for us to get the hang of college papers. I never appreciated what she did for us until I got to college. ==== ==== I found that even though I thought Black River was going to be nothing like college I found myself pleasantly surprised at how prepared I was. I was ahead of the other kids in English; I knew most of the heath topics we learned about. But what I was most surprised was when on my first college essay I received a B. English was never really a strong subject for me. I received A’s only because nothing less was acceptable, I had help from student teachers, fellow students and the teacher themselves. However, I have never felt more proud then I did when I received a B on my first college paper. I did it on my own, with little help from my parents and fellow students. I realized that the fact that I did so well was most likely due to the fact that I really enjoyed what I was writing. I also was very prepared from what I had learned in high school and I was ready for this course and what was in store for me. I never thought that I had learned anything in high school but when I began classes I found myself prepared. Going through the course I learned a few things here and there about different types of writing and little tips but honestly, it was very much like my course in high school, just a little more laid back, and more of a variety of writings types. Also, rather then being forced to write and then examined for every little mistake and multiple drafts later, I had written it on my own and it was something that I really enjoyed writing. The first writing assignment of college English was a memoir. Something about me, something about my life and a personal story about me, instead of writing about some book I was forced to read, for the first time I was able to write about myself. ==== ==== For my memoir, there were some stipulations, however I found myself being more guided then forced around the rules. I could write with ease and I had a lot of fun. I was able to just write and when I was writing the words and thoughts flowed a lot easier and faster then with many other writings. It was easy to talk about when a firecracker went off in my hands because I had such a vivid memory about it even though I was so young. When I was writing the story replayed over and over in my mind and this visualization made it much easier to write. I had a picture in my mind and all I had to do was simply to put that image and picture into writing. ==== ==== For every piece of writing there is always something to improve on. What I learned in this class is that to just keep trying. Instead of being forced like I was in high school by teachers and parents, I am able to push myself. So the advice that I would give myself is just keep trying. Many teachers and fellow students have told me to look over my work many many times before I’m done. To proof read to find little errors, or changes you would like to make. And that is mostly the best advice anyone can give. Keep trying to perfect your work. Look over it three or six times, as many as it takes for you to feel confident in it. Also try to look as writing as not forced, you are not in high school anymore and you don’t have to do anything. Look at the rules as guidelines and in the end, always try to have fun with your work. ====