Adamaris Marquez

210 E Cherry
Enid, OK 73701

3 May 2023

Tammy Davis
Northern Oklahoma College
615 North Monroe
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74076

Dear Professor Davis,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you to let you know of my portfolio. I’ve
selected four pieces that I believe represent my writing the best. I am proud to have written each
of the following pieces, because what I struggle to articulate in words, I was able to easily
articulate on paper.

The first piece is an essay discussing the type of conflict in Kate Chopin’s, The Story of an Hour.
I had chosen to write about the type of conflict in this short story because the story itself had
inspired me greatly. In it, a woman dies of joy after learning of her husband’s death, but not
before cheering about how she was now free and could now live for herself. As a feminist, I felt
it important to remind people just how much societal pressure women had put up with in
Chopin’s time. The reason this piece is first in my portfolio is because I can’t let it go. I am a
feminist, this piece shows that if I care about just one thing, it is to highlight the struggles women
have faced. I am not sure if this essay is as groundbreaking as I think it to be, but did get a decent
grade and I was proud to make it authentic.

The next piece is about a topic I had to state my opinion on. As I have said before, what I
struggle to articulate through speaking, I was able to articulate through writing. This piece in
particular, is a piece I want my sister to read. Although I am unable to make my argument
verbally, she will literally see what exactly my argument is supposed to be. This piece is second
in my portfolio, because this is a hill I have decided to die on and I need the world to know that. I
struggled trying to decide on a topic to state my opinion on, so I don’t think the grade I was
given made much sense. If I had the choice to do it again, I believe I would pack it with research
instead of just anecdotes.

Third in my portfolio is a reading response to Toni Morrison’s, Recitatif. I am not one to admit
that I do not know everything, but alas being all knowing is a feat yet to be accomplished by
anyone. I chose this piece, because I did not expect it to do well or even garner a positive
comment from the professor who had assigned this reading. This piece is more than just a
reading response to me, it serves as a reminder that doing does more than thinking. There are
moments where my brain struggles to understand certain questions and will often go into panic
mode. I believe that I could have better articulated my thoughts on the piece and the question
asked had I not allowed myself to panic.
The fourth and final piece I selected is the first essay I’ve written for this semester. In this essay I
discuss my five pillars of being a good neighbor. This piece is in my portfolio because as
confident as I am in my writing, I believe that I still have plenty of learning to do. I am extremely
stubborn when it comes to improving my work, so I view the critiques given on this essay as eye
openers. I am a giant procrastinator, so when I think an assignment is easy and wait until the
night before to complete it, I settle for a completed piece over a good piece. If I can go back, I
would most definitely stop myself from getting discouraged at the idea of a research paper or in
general, just a paper that needs evidence and a works cited page.

When I first started school, I didn’t speak much English, so I struggled with both reading and
writing. Which was fine by my little kindergarten standards, because I was big on stereotypes
and did not want to be a nerd. That aside, I was put into a group meant to help improve my skills
in both reading and writing. Along with access to picture books on the shelf in my classroom, my
reading as well as writing began to improve. I did have to repeat kindergarten, due to not having
learnt enough English, but I don’t believe I would have thrived as well as I did without that extra
year of kindergarten so… on to the next part we go.

As I have stated before, I wasn’t really a fan of writing, so I barely gave my assignments any
thought when I wrote them. However, if I am being honest, I did once find myself excited to
write an essay during the fifth grade, but then I overthought every single thing and ended up
having a mental breakdown and not doing the assignment. I must say that my interest in writing
didn’t really occur until middle school.

While I was in middle school, I became obsessed with a show I was watching and began reading
fanfiction of it. After having a bit of dry spell, due to the lack of anything I liked, I realized that I
probably had to write what I wanted to read. I did just that and had plenty of fun writing my own
version of the events that went on in this show. I will say that I did not, however, put as much
effort into my essays for class. I was honestly just average when it came to school. I would
describe my writing process as a spur of the moment type process. Unfortunately, I am no
stranger to writer’s block, so if I have to take advantage of these tiny moments of inspiration and
write what I can before I either forget or succumb to the writer’s block will. I am also addicted to
my screen and find myself saying “But tiktok…” when I even consider the possibility of writing.

If I had to put together a writing toolbox, I would most likely include a thesaurus to avoid
repeating certain words, a little sticky note reminding me of the dirty words (inspired by you),
and a good show to listen to, so I don’t let boredom destroy my inspiration. There are plenty of
other tools that I’d love to include, but the three I mentioned before are the ones I want to use
most. I want to have a future in writing, but I am lost, because I am worried that it is more of a
dream than a solid career path. I want to have a plan for if this plan fails, but I also want to have
as much passion for this career as I do for writing. My dream is to write a book that offers an
escape to teens that struggled the same way I did when I was younger, but I don’t believe that I
am ready to do so just yet. I will, however, say that I see myself writing for an advice column or
having a blog of my own in the future.

In conclusion, I can tell you that no matter the outcome of my pursuit in this career, you can
count on the fact that I will still be writing fanfics for different fandoms and will be applying all
the knowledge you have given me throughout this course. I appreciate you taking the time to
look through this portfolio and hope you find one of my pieces worth discussing. I wish you the
best, and thank you for an amazing semester.

Sincerely,

Adamaris Marquez