Connor Reed

Professor Williams

English 111

11 December 2019

Reflective Cover Letter

Before taking English 111, I felt comfortable and confident in my writing abilities.

Throughout my academic career, I have read hundreds of books and written numerous papers

thus building this confidence to the point I felt I knew everything about writing papers. I thought

that as long as I answered the prompt using key words or concepts that the instructor would

credit as “correct” then I would be fine. However, this all faded away on my first day of English

111. I knew that there were small technicalities that I could fix in my writing and I was excited to

learn how to fix them by taking a well respected course.

For this final assignment, I decided to revise “A Stranger From the Past”, a formal

self-reflection essay written about a specific moment in my past. I chose to revise this essay

because I felt that this essay reflects my style of writing in the most prominent fashion. I also

think this is the best piece to represent my writing because I felt connected with this prompt the

most. It allowed me to employ a lot of creativity and free thinking. This contrasts with most

formal assignments we are assigned as high school students because most of the time there are

concrete steps outlining a specific writing process. This specific prompt allowed me to create my

own writing process. The first draft of this essay was very enjoyable and simple to write because

everything was based off my thoughts and opinions. After prewriting possible things I could talk
about regarding the picture I chose, it was simple to organize them into a comprehensive piece of

writing. However, I was not familiar with this type of writing so it did present some challenges.

The processes of prewriting, writing a rough draft, receiving feedback and revising all

strengthened my paper greatly. After receiving both student and teacher feedback, it was clear

that there were some major flaws in this essay. The most prominent issue was not creating a clear

enough path for the reader to follow throughout the essay. I had trouble connected ideas and

presenting them to the reader in a way that was easy to understand. After adding more transitions

to connect ideas and changing the way I presented my ideas, I feel I have perfected this essay. I

feel I have finally been able to understand the concept that writing is a form of communication

and that I must be able to transfer my thoughts and emotions into a way that others can

understand.

If I had more time and instruction, my greatest concern would probably be that I

overanalyzed the prompt and took it in a different direction than what was expected. Although I

am proud of the paper I wrote, I was fearful that others would have taken it in a completely

different direction making my paper look like an outlier. However over the course of this class, I

have learned that individualism is nothing to be ashamed of. After writing countless discussion

board prompts for some 270 students to see, I have learned to become more confident in my own

ideas and who I am as a person. I would absolutely take this class over again to help develop my

individualism in the form of writing, and as a person. Professor Williams has been able to

convey every single topic we learned this year effectively, by assigning prompts that allow us to

apply what we learned to the real world. Professor William’s English 111 course has provided

me with the necessary strategies and skills to further develop my writing for the rest of my life.
Connor Reed

English 111

Professor Williams

9/30/19

A Stranger From the Past...

I remember the black sand staining the bottoms of my white shoes. I remember the ice

cold waves crashing against the rocks with the grey sky looming above. I still feel the cuts the

sharp rocks lining the cliff inflicted upon me. The foreign landscape was breathtaking and I

enjoyed every second of it. I felt that for the first time in my life, everything I valued was

worthless. I realized just how massive the world is and that I seem insignificant compared to it.

Before this picture my priorities, goals, and way of life were completely different to my

current lifestyle. Although I was two years younger, I feel as if I have aged a lifetime. I had very

little to worry about, so my priorities consisted of keeping my grades up, performing well in

soccer, and striving to be a good friend. I felt I had to succeed to please my family and that I had

to get into a prestigious university. This pressure both scared and encouraged me because
although school was very hard, it gave me a goal to reach for and work for each and everyday.

Soccer also played a massive role in my life. At the time I was playing in the Southeast Regional

league, which means I was playing at a very competitive, high level, traveling all over the

country, which was a lot for a 14 year old to handle. I took soccer very seriously and almost

began to dread playing because the thought of losing and letting my team down terrified me.

However, soccer wasn’t all bad because it helped me build friendships and be part of a team. I

focused on my role in other people's lives frequently. ​Looking back at this stranger I remember

how important it was to have a good group of friends that supported me. ​I wondered how I could

impact others and make them think my way. Overall, I was a self-centered person that felt

entitled to everything. For example, I would constantly complain to my mom about how little she

did for me if she left me waiting at school, or after soccer practice. In reality she based her whole

life around my well being. I wanted people to acknowledge the effort I put into everything in my

life and I felt the need to have them envy me.

At the time I felt I had to be able to support myself and be independent by the time I

turned 18 because I wanted to prove I was better than others. I thought that I had to have a plan

for my future and obsess over going to college. I constantly worried about whether I would be

able to make it out of the small community I spent my whole life in. My main goal was to get out

of Denver, North Carolina and live independently in somewhere far away. I loved my family and

the community around me but I felt I was missing out on seeing the world. Being raised in this

small little bubble of a town made me very self-centered, however since then I have been

broadening my horizons.
 It would appear now that this person in the picture is a stranger compared to me now. I

feel like I have realized that the world will not change for me. I have realized that I am not more

important than the people around me and they deserve equal attention. I learned to truly love the

people around me and value their lives. Now I feel that I am a selfless person that is much

happier. I completely transitioned over the two year period from being a self centered person to a

happy, selfless person that enjoys life. This trip marked the beginning of this transition for me

because it opened my eyes to the world and realized there are things in life much greater than

myself.

My priorities have shifted massively since the time of this picture. I still care about

school and getting into college and things regarding that, but now I have put things in

perspective and realized that college is not the epitome of life. I have realized that although I

want to do well, I am not a failure if I have minor setbacks. My priorities now mainly include

looking out for the people around me. I try to lead the Lincoln Charter Varsity Men’s soccer

team and teach the younger players to do well. I take younger players home and try to help them

with their struggles in school. I also look out for the whole of the team making sure players are

accounted for at practice and team responsibilities are handled. I also realize the impact my

parents have had on me and feel that will only be right if I can repay the favor someday. My

parents, and their well being, are a massive priority in my life. . Now, I try to make my parents

lives easier by doing things like getting groceries, cleaning the house, and surprising them with

gifts.

Now I recognize myself as a selfless person, looking to try to make the people around me

better. I enjoy helping friends achieve their goals, whether it be helping a student with a problem
in a class, or attending a friend’s sporting event to support them. This shift in mindset has led me

to the realization that the only way a person can impact the world is by helping those around

them. This mentality has led me to be happier as a person and completely changed. I love who I

have become now and hope to find people around me with similar ideas.