Acknowledgements

Words connect the universe. They give us a way to express ourselves in the most explicit way possible. What is interesting is that I am currently using words to describe the importance of words. Personally, I never had this level of appreciation before taking 11 AP English, but after reflecting, I have noticed that words can be molded into whatever an author wants, whenever an author wants.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Horace Miner for introducing me to one of my most beloved writing modes: satire. The anthropological study of America made me come to the realization that, through the viewpoint that the reader must take on in “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” is one that also made me understand that life views life as something supernatural, which is evidenced through his mention of a “small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth”, (more commonly known as a toothbrush). My own response to Miner’s work consisted of acknowledging “a solid, rectangular frame that contains a fabric cover” (also known as a bed). Through my imitation of Miner’s writing, I had grasped a larger understanding over a new method of writing, in which I am now able to manipulate my words to my choosing.

I’d also like to extend my gratitude to Judy Brady, who also gave me a reason to love satire through her piece, “I Want a Wife.” She expertly takes on a new perspective, in which she does not agree with. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece because it enraged me, and it reminded me that there are individuals that actually form thoughts akin to this. After reading Brady’s piece, it gave me the knowledge to write my own pieces from a perspective other than my own.

Special thanks to Firoozeh Dumas and David Sedaris for teaching me the strength of community in an area where an individual is only seen as an individual. This is evidenced through Dumas’s own experience with her and her family members’ names, where “Farbod, mean[ing] ‘greatness,’ but it is pronounced as ‘farthead’”  and in response, I wrote a blog about my own name. In my blog, I mentioned how my last name—which is considered foreign in the United States—“Singh,” was reduced into the word “sign.” Suddenly, the meaning behind my last name was being changed into a simple indication due to the negligence of readers, but what could I do other than comment on how ridiculous the situation was? Without having read “The ‘F’ Word” by Dumas or “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by Sedaris, I would not have realized that words, in this sense, are used to make a humorous and relatable tone for something that would usually be received as pitiful.

My improvement in writing did not happen overnight. It took essays upon essays to finally get somewhere that felt satisfactory. In my first essay of the second semester, I did not finish it within the allotted time and focused too much on the introductory paragraph. For example, I had written two claims for Nancy Mairs’s “I am a Cripple,” both restating the same idea that “Mairs presents herself as a critique of the English language”. In one of my more recent essays, I had achieved a better score by focusing on one claim and having it last throughout my entire piece. For example, I stated that “Sonia Sotomayor asserts the identity of being Newyorkrican by using rhetorical questions and a proud tone”, which was gone into further analysis, such as “Sotomayor gives no room for any other explanation on her identity—she is absolutely and factually, Newyorkrican, which she shows pride in”. I never thought I would admit this, but I am truly grateful for the weekly essays, as they taught me to use language to prove my point.

AP Lang, you will always be in my heart

I cannot even begin to express my thanks to my English pod, Annabella, Dhruti, Julia, Shayuri, Vanshika, and Vinaya. They have taught me so much about class collaboration and the importance of depth in analysis. I would not have understood much of our material without their comments about the text. I truly am very grateful for them and I do not know how I would have made it through the entire class without these absolute scholars.

I cannot leave 11AP without mentioning Miss Valentino, whom this journey would be impossible without. I am very grateful for all of the memories I have created in this class, and I want to continue using the skills I’ve honed in this class for all of my writing journeys ahead of me!