Thursday, June 16, 2011

Writing from a Prompt

I'm at a Pre-AP conference this week.  I've learned a lot of great strategies, but today was my favorite day.  Partially because it's the last day and I get to sleep in tomorrow, but mainly because today focused on writing, which is often a neglected art in an ELA.  We were given a journal exercise, and after several revisions, I'm proud with the essay I developed, so I thought I'd share:

PROMPT:

Think about a friend who is unique or special in some way.  Who is he or she, and what makes him or her special?  Describe his/her actions and appearance to illustrate.
MY RESPONSE:

Poised. Elegant. Beautiful. She was everything I wanted to be, but wasn’t. I was awkward and nerdy, yet she was my friend. Not my “best” friend, but my oldest friend, my most cherished friend.



We belonged to two different worlds. Hers was high society with private schools, fine dining, and Rolls Royces. Mine was middle class with public schools, home cooking, and minivans. But in preschool, those worlds collided and we became fast friends. Each year, she came to my birthday party. When birthday parties were outgrown, we had unplanned annual reunions randomly around town – buying suits for our fathers or running shoes for our mothers.


Graduation, college, and real life came and we drifted apart. Years came and went without seeing or speaking, but our hearts remained as close as ever.


I saw her again recently, still stunning, gorgeous, and eloquent. It was the first time in two (maybe three?) years…yet there were no awkward silences, no forced moments. We talked and laughed and loved well into the night.


But our separate lives called us back. Hers still high society and glamorous in NYC. Mine still working class and routine in Leander. Still, I know our worlds will collide again. It may be years, decades before we see each other, but in the matters of our hearts, time will not have passed.