Dear Prof. Darrow

Dear Prof. Darrow,

First I would like to thank you for the wonderful job that you are doing this semester. Your class is definitely different than my 101 class was, and I appreciate the change of pace. Although I was more tuned towards the free writing of my 101 class I am thoroughly enjoying yours as well. I didn’t expect to be reading and watching such horrifying, yet intriguing stories in my English class. That stuff is usually saved for history classes, which I don’t plan on taking a lot of so thank you for the mixture. Reading the books by O’Brien and Huze was certainly an interesting and emotional experience. I knew that war was horrible and that people died. I also knew that a lot of soldiers never recover from war. But I had never read firsthand accounts of stories that actually took place and the truly gruesome tragedies they lived through. It gave me a greater respect for our soldiers than I already had, and more frustration and anger towards our government than ever before. War; while sometimes necessary, it seems it is usually just a play for power and dollar signs.

The hardest part of this semester for me has been the literary analysis, yet I hope it doesn’t show too much. I sway more towards how the words make you feel and where the story wants to carry your mind. Not how the story got you there or why things are written the way they are. Although I do seem to do this more with poetry, but only after I read the poem two or three times so that I can truly feel it. Besides analyzing a piece of work doesn’t make you right, it’s nothing more than another opinion. No one except the writer knows why certain words, phrases, and punctuation were used. Yet, a certain amount of analysis is definitely necessary depending on our major. Industrial Design not so much, but for the students that are going into law, English, or Psychology it will play a huge role in their line of work. Just like I am sure that it does for you every day while you sit and grade paper after paper.

For the second half of the semester I want to focus on time management for myself. Normally I am quite organized with my scheduling of school vs. everything else, but life has been very hectic lately. Between my kiddos, work, moving, and taking three online classes’ things have proved a little crazy. So I just hope to slow things down a bit. That way I can give my classes the time and dedication that they and I deserve. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and have a great day.

Sincerely,

Jesse Duran