My First Letter

Hello Mr. Coon,

I have been an avid reader since my youth. My parents greatly fostered my love of reading by encouraging me to buy books and go to the library. They felt it would be important to build a strong foundation at a young age. In my early years of reading, I mostly read storybooks, particularly those in a series such as The Boxcar Children and Goosebumps. My schoolwork was easy enough to allow me to read often, and my elementary school and middle school offered programs such as Book-It and Accelerated Reader to ensure that most kids at least read a few books outside of the class.

As I entered high school, I found myself having less time to read books for pleasure. Often times, I received so much assigned reading from my classes that I would not feel like reading for fun. I noticed a sharp decline in my reading habits and I try not to read too many books during the school year because I cannot devote enough attention to these books. Instead I read Time and Sports Illustrated on a weekly basis. Sports Illustrated satisfies my passion for sports, and Time challenges me to examine current events through other perspectives while still filling my appetite for news. The only exception I have to my above rule is Harry Potter. I could gladly sacrafice a bit of school work to read or even re-read all of her novels. J.K. Rowling has created such an all-encompassing world, that I like to believe I am a part of that world.

One aspect of my English that has greatly improved since my time at Phoenix Country Day School (PCDS) has been my writing. Coming into PCDS, I felt that writing was one of my weaker aspects. PCDS’s strong English program proved to be a major draw. That is not to say I have now become an expert writer. I still have a lot to learn. I do not enjoy writing as much as I enjoy reading and because of this I do not write outside of school though this could be beneficial. My biggest weakness as a writer is that I do not spend enough time on my work. Often times I write papers just before the due date and this does not give me enough time to properly proof read my work; however, when I do spend time on my papers, I am pleased with my results. Sometimes, I try to start my papers early but find I cannot think of anything to write about until I reach a “crunch” time where I have no choice but to write my paper. I hope to work on this aspect throughout the year in my attempt to become a better writer (461).

Navdeep Khera