The day I first walked into Mrs. Valentino’s AP Language class, I didn’t know what to expect. Here I was, decked out in my new back-to-school drip, looking for an empty seat and our new teacher, Mrs. Valentino, when all of a sudden, I see a young, bald man in her place, talking about the new Kanye album. From that moment onwards, I knew that I was in for a ride. I fastened my seat belts and experienced the joys and thrills of The Great Gatsby, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Clan of One-Breasted Women, while also experiencing the pains and miseries of homework (don’t worry, I still enjoyed reading pieces such as The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and annotating other pieces). And while I’m talking about how great this class really was this year, it would be disingenuous of me to continue onwards without giving a proper appreciation to all the people and pieces that have made this year and this experience possible.
First, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the two teachers I had this year: Mr. Kisse and Mrs. Valentino. I would like to start off by thanking Mr. Kisse for coming into a tough situation and tackling it headfirst. For such a young guy who had no experience with teaching an AP class, you did an absolutely fantastic job of going through the curriculum and helping us analyze panels in Maus and learn about how trauma can be passed down through generations, and how it can engulf and consume an entire person. I am also deeply indebted to Mrs. Valentino for preparing us so well for the AP Exam. The idea of giving us blog posts every week was ingenious, and they helped me develop my inner writing voice and honed my creativity. In addition, having us write essays each week was absolutely crucial to our development as writers. While we may have sighed and moaned every Monday, it inevitably helped us become more accustomed to the AP style of prompts and the three different essay types that we’ll have to write. Also, by showing us other high-scoring essays for every prompt that we’ve done, you have taught us the most important lesson that there is no one style of essay that can be high scoring: as long as you use your own voice to drive forward the essay, you will do well.
I also cannot leave 11 AP without giving dues to the many pieces that we have read in class. These pieces have not only helped me see the world in a new light, but they have also helped me to understand many different viewpoints. They have helped me keep a watchful eye out for injustice.
I am deeply indebted to Cathy Park Hong and her great essay (ironically named), The Indebted. As an Asian-American myself, I always struggled with the same problems and questions that Cathy Park Hong faced herself. Should I necessarily feel gratitude towards this country and living in it? Should I be indebted towards my parents for moving me here in order to “have a better life?” Hong taught me that for us immigrants, we should feel grateful for the activists who came before us. The ones who struggled so they could make our lives better. The ones who showed us that change is a generational event, and we must continue with the tradition of slowly but surely eroding the basis of racism. Through her well-developed essay, Hong not only showed me the numerous injustices faced by Asians in America today, but also the numerous injustices that were brought to these Asian countries under America’s sphere of influence. Her anecdotes about the damage done in South Korea by “fumbling” Americans have also helped me reevaluate the damage done in India by another Western power, Britain. By 1700, India and the Mughal Empire had the largest economy in the world. It minted millions of coins each year, and it had annual incomes of up to $450 million, almost ten times larger than Louis XIV’s France. Yet, when the British came, all that wealth evaporated. It moved up the ladders into the British’s hands, while none were left for the Indian people themselves. The impoverished state of many Indians can almost directly be blamed on over a century of regressive British rule. Even the religious tensions in the region (between Hindus and Muslims) can be blamed upon British rule. Their “divide-and-rule” policies tore apart the unity that had stood long before, and has since then given rise to Hindu nationalism within the country, as well as terrorism bases in Pakistan. Why should I feel indebted to a system that tore my home country apart?
And how could I walk out of this classroom without giving a proper thank you letter to F Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby? Through a recent reevaluation of the piece, I was stunned as to how many complex themes the novel covered. I feel that Jay Gatsby’s infatuation with the mirages around him serve as a powerful insight into America and the people who comprise it. Many even today believe that money is a band aid that can be slapped to solve everything. Gatsby believed that a life of vice would lead him into marrying Daisy, the love of his life. Although his stint in alcohol did leave him with a mighty fine mansion, he failed to take into account that in 5 years, his sweetheart has already matured. They are no longer both the young, romantic people that they were when they were teenagers. Daisy already has a husband in Tom now, and no matter how much she wants to get back with Jay Gatsby, she knows that she never can. All throughout his life, Jay Gatsby had been chasing “The American Dream,” but did he gain anything from it? What did he gain from chasing the green light that illuminated the pier? What did he get from living the “fast life” with his gold-colored car? I think Fitzgerald’s work is a testament as to how The American Dream simply does not exist for many people, and how fulfillment will never result from chasing material goods and idealizations. I’m just glad that it was this novel to teach me this lesson.
Before parting ways with this class, it’s imperative that I at least acknowledge the other pieces and authors who have aided me on my AP Lang journey. I would like to thank David Foster Wallace for teaching me to think about how others are feeling, and to even think about how a lobster feels when he’s getting boiled alive. Thank you to Virginia Woolf for further adding to my existential crisis and teaching me that human life may be a worthless, endless struggle. Thank you to Terry Tempest Williams for showing me how the lies of the government can truly impact the lives of millions of people, and how it’s always important to question the claims of authority. Finally, I would like to thank Lorraine Hansberry for showing me how permeated systemic racism is within this country. This year wouldn’t have been made possible without the pieces I listed in this acknowledgement, as well as the numerous others we read and analyzed throughout this course.
This is definitely one of the more straightforward acknowledgments that I have read out of the rest. A lot of the others were being extra with style and humor. And sometimes that works, but even the simple ones are nice. This acknowledgments was very well structured. I liked the way you transitioned from people you see everyday to people you have seen on a piece of paper. It shows the development that you and all of us have had throughout this year of learning and what each person contributed to it.
ReplyDeleteNice job Nihil! I always loved your style of writing which grasped me from the start. From these acknowledgments, I was able to also feel how you were able to learn so much and develop extensively, like many of us did as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Nihil! I loved how you described the first day of school and whaty you were thinking when you saw Mr. Kisse walk in. I agree with your appreciation towards Cathy Park Hong, as she really put our loyalties, trust, and understanding of our country into question. Great Acknowledgement post!
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