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Ma Joanna B Dinio
Professor Ditch
English 113B
8 May 2015
A Road to Success
Dear Reader,
Id like to tell you a little story of my first day of college, it was one of the most
horrible experience of my life. I was on my way to class on my skateboard, I was going
so fast, the wind brushing through my face as I accelerate down the sidewalk. I sensed a
feeling that I was going downhill, too fast for me to control. I hung onto a pole to stop
myself, and the skateboard went out of control, little did I know I was on the floor with a
twisted ankle. I looked around and thought, who will help me? Should I not go to class?
No, its my first day of college. I wiped the tears off my face, got up, and sprint it to
my class.
The first week of second semester in English 113B, Professor Ditch required us
to: read about five articles, four assignments and moodle posts, prepare for Project
Space assignment, and many more. I was extremely overwhelmed with the amount of
reading I had to do, but Professor Ditch always said, You dont ever have to like to read
whatever content you are given, just do it. I promise you, I didnt like all of the books I
had to read when I was in college.. Project Space wasnt easy. The prompt was to
identify your own culture and how it shapes you as a whole. Moreover, to connect it to

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two class readings and two outside sources. I was confused. I didnt know how to identify
the culture I mostly belonged in.
Project Space required me to think deep in my thoughts. Who was I? what shaped
me? to what culture do I belong? and then it hit me. I am my own culture. I chose to write
about the culture of happiness, and how it is the most important culture of all. I stressed
the idea of participating in whatever culture we choose to partake in, as long as we are
happy. I worked on developing this essay for about three long weeks. I finished, I got a
decent grade, and I survived.
After that essay I thought the semester would go smoothly by then. I was wrong.
After Project Space, Project Text quickly came into the picture, I had no breather. Project
Text required us to put together a class presentation analyzing the book that was assigned
for us to read ever since the first day of class. The book is called, The Guernsey Literary
and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an epistolary novel which focuses around the
society during their time of oppression. We had to choose a topic to focus and analyze the
text upon. I chose Overcoming Trauma as my topic sentence because I figured everyday
is a struggle, we just have to overcome it. I developed this idea further for two long
weeks. I finished, I got a decent grade, and I survived.
As the final portfolio approached, I started to have an outlook on my original and
revised essays in this past semester. As I read my Project Space essay, I felt the warmth
inside, I felt chills and an unexplained feeling inside. I realized that I really did put my
heart in my essay. I revised a few things but mainly focused on grammar and punctuation.

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An example of my correction is when I fixed my verbs in order to match the current
event. A few examples of the customs I was expected to follow are: keeping my
feminine figure for myself and for my future husband, not having a boyfriend until I have
a career, always following my parents orders no matter how ridiculous they may get, not
moving away from my family until I am 25 years old, and to always put everyone else
before me, etc. (pg 2, Project Space) keeping, having, following and moving -ing are
verbs that match when listing. I learned to be careful when listing verbs. For example, I
cant mix up moving along, getting up, and try to get ready. A simple fix could be,
moving along, getting up and trying to get ready. or move along, get up and try to get
ready. I had more corrections that were made, but they were simple fixes such as
replacing the words that would suit better for my sentences.
After observing my first essay, I had a clearer view of what I needed to fix on my
second essay. For Project Text, I only had minor mistakes and fixed them by replacing
some words to properly fit in. For example, even Juliet, as a writer, still was not
assured of what she had to live for the next day, how long shell have her house, clothes,
food, etc., in comparison to what the islanders on Guernsey were going through, but even
worst. (pg 2 , Project Text) I noticed a lot of minor fixes that were easily corrected.
By noticing how much minor mistakes I made, I realized that I improved as a
writer, because I was able to pinpoint simple mistakes that I clearly wasnt able to see in
the past. As a writer, I learned that no matter how difficult things may get, I will get up
and sprint it to my next journey.

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Work Cited
Shaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society. New York Times.
N.Y: Dial, 2008. Print.