Alex Micciantuono

8/27/2014
Draft 1

Dear Mom,

Ive had a wonderful summer hanging out with Jeremy and his family. Living with my
best friend has been a true learning experience. As you know, Jeremys mom runs the Fresh Air
Fund Foundation. This summer a kid from Brooklyn named Josh has come to live with them.
Josh had a poor upbringing and was kind of a wild child. At first glance most wouldve been

Formatted: Highlight

disturbed or put off by his behavior. For example, we went to Burger King where he decided
throwing his burger across the room would be an appropriate move. Though many saw
destruction and chaos, I saw myself.
Josh was a underprivileged 8 year old from Brooklyn. He could be described as the life

Comment [t1]: Nice turn around!

Formatted: Highlight

of the party. No matter what he always had something to say and a bundle of energy to back it

Comment [t2]: Clich

up. It was quite clear on first impressions that he wasnt well educated. Even for a 8 year old, he

Comment [t3]: Avoid starting sentences with

it or there and a form of to be.

struggled with basic words and pronunciations. Seeing this made me reflect on myself and the

Formatted: Highlight

education I took for granted. At this time Jeremy and I decided to make it our mission to help
Josh in any way possible.

Comment [t4]: Why?

As a kid I remember filling out large books of all the letters in the alphabet. I thought
Josh may be a little old for this, but didnt know where else to start. Seeing Josh had a decent
concept of letters and there prononciation, we decided to move towards reading. My favorite
book as kid was The Adventures of Captain Underpants. I thought Josh could relate to these due

Comment [t5]: When Word underlines a

word, it means it is spelled wrong and you
should fix it.
Formatted: Font: Italic

Alex Micciantuono
8/27/2014
Draft 1
to the comedic aspects. Josh began to worship the books like they were the Bible. He developed
this new passion and ambition to read that Ive never seen before.
Seeing this passion Josh had developed I decided to reflect on my reading and writing

Comment [t6]: wordy

abilities. Though Ive always been able to get by when it came to reading and writing, I always
considered it more of work compared to enjoyable. I decided to look into some novels I may be
interested in reading for enjoyment. Previously seeing the movie for Band of Brothers I took it
upon myself to read the book. For the first time in my life I understood what people meant by the

Comment [t7]: Use a comma after a

prepositional phrase at the beginning of a
sentence.

book being better than the movie. The book allowed for this aspect of my imagination to run
crazy as I read. This became the first of many books I read that summer. Mainly all war stories

Comment [t8]: cliche

Formatted: Highlight

(due to my obsession with combat), but I began to explore with all different genres. I now feel I
have a much better concept on my reading, writing, and my overall literacy skills. This is a great

Formatted: Highlight

feeling coming back into the upcoming school year.

Summer is now coming to an end, but my memories will last forever. At first glance, I
considered Josh just another kid who wouldnt have too much of a relevance in my life, but in
the end he became a huge factor in my future self. I was inspired by his ambition and passion to
learn. If it werent for him, I would never had explored my own reading and writing abilities.
Cant wait to see you!

Comment [t9]: When Word underlines a word

in green, that means you are likely using the
wrong word.
Comment [t10]: This seems out of the blue.
You need to come back to speaking to your
mom directly first.

Love,
Alex

Formatted: Centered