BREAKING NEWS! AP Language: I Survived!

It's official. I survived my Junior year. The APs are over and now I'm counting the days until the last day of school. In the beginning, I thought this year would never end, and now I'm almost sad it's over. Almost, not quite. I'm ready to enjoy my school-free summer. But this isn't about my summer plans (as great as they may be), it's about reflecting back on a year of AP English. It has been a year of great challenge and, in my humble opinion, even greater success.

            In the beginning, I was afraid. My Sophomore year wasn't even over and already I hated my Junior year. Summer work...the root of all evil and a serious pain in the butt for anyone who likes to enjoy sleeping in and doing absolutely nothing during their three months away from the school building. I almost didn't do it and not just because I had no clue what a rhetorical précis was, but because I felt I had other things to do with my time (which I didn't, I just thought I did because, you know, I'm a teenager and it was summer). Despite all my complaining, I did what was asked of me and I didn't die. I wish I had done a better job because looking back, those rhetorical précis paragraphs were terrible, but I take pride in the fact that I at least attempted to do the work, even if it wasn't my best. It laid a strong foundation for the work that I would produce throughout the rest of the year.

            AP prompts are ridiculous. I mean that with complete sincerity. I remember my first AP prompt for this class. It was about an essay on the Midwest and how fantastic the author thought it was (in my own essay I mistakenly called the Midwest the Middle East and I learned that day that proofreading your work is essential). I got a three on that essay. I wanted to cry. I honestly thought that I had written something that was worth my than a three and it tore at my self-confidence. I thought about going to down the guidance office and transferring into a regents level English class. I thought about it, but my pride got in the way, and so I stayed in AP Language.

            I rarely thank my pride for anything (it's one the seven deadly sins to be too prideful) but I thank it now for not allowing to drop this class. I thank my own stubbornness for wanting to show that I was capable of working at an AP level. I worked hard. I took the critique I received and I tried my best to incorporate that into my writing. I think I did well. My argument with sources with paper (which is, in my mind, the best paper I've ever written) received an eight. An eight! I never thought that was humanly possible. After months of fours and fives I thought that was the best I could do and I was frustrated. I think that's what made me work harder. I refused to let an English class get the better of me, even if was an AP.

            I love English. I enjoy writing, but one of my passions is reading. I would read all day if you'd let me. There's really nothing better than sitting down in some quiet space and getting lost in some other world (I often find myself laughing out loud and telling the characters how stupid they are and what I would have done if I were in their position). That's why I've opted to take AP Lit next year. I enjoy the challenge presented by an AP level class and I love reading, so why not combine the two? I survived AP Language and I  have no doubt that I can handle anything AP Lit has to throw at me.

                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                    Dominque Wright

            P.S. This is just a word of advice for any potential AP Language students: Be prepared to work. If you don't put the time into this class, then it's not really worth taking in the first place. Don't complain either. You're the one who wanted to take this class and I highly recommend that you stick with it; that satisfaction you'll get at the end of the year will be so worth all the “torture”.