GROWING UP:
Final Project 800 Words
Written by Inpyo Hong
8th Grade English
Pine Point School
May 31, 2011
1st Genre-Letter
Dear Reader:
This is an essay written by a person who is constantly growing up. This essay is about growing up, and how it is related to my life. Some people might think they are all grown up, but they are not. I strongly believe we grow up continually; we always learn throughout our lives by having conversations, studying, making mistakes, and having experiences. In English class, I read two books - To Kill A Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet – both containing themes about growing up. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem matures when he becomes twelve years old. He starts to think and understand about life in different ways. Furthermore, young Romeo falls in love with young Juliet. They start to make decisions for their love. For example, they decide to marry without their parents’ assents. Finally, I am using five genres – a letter, a story, a paragraph, a teacher’s comments on student’s papers, and an instruction manual – in my essay. Even though there would be some mistakes, I hope my essay is comprehendible because my skill of writing is constantly growing up.
All my best,
Inpyo Hong
2nd Genre-Story
This is a story about a boy who was born in Korea. When he was thirteen years old, he attended Gae-Sung Elementary School, one of the best schools in Korea. He was the president of the Student Council of his school. He was well trained and skilled at swimming. He won gold medals in every swimming competition at his age. Furthermore, he always got an A+ from every class; he was the smartest student at his school. However, there was a problem with him and his family. His parents always fought because of their alternative life styles, and they were about to divorce. His mom was tired of her husband beating her up. His dad was tired of his wife arguing with him and being negative to him. In addition, the boy was exhausted from his parents’ quarrels. Finally, his parents divorced. After this adverse event, the boy’s grades dropped to the floor. He stopped swimming and he did not want to see people anymore.
One day, the boy’s homeroom teacher visited the boy’s house because he did not go to school for a week. The teacher sprinkled his water on the boy’s face. He shouted, “What are you doing here? Are you scared that people will make fun of you because of your mom and dad? Are you a girl?” The boy answered, “… No.” The teacher shouted again, “Show what you have, show them what you can do, let the world know who you are. That’s the only way you can be proud, respected, and mature.”
The boy went to school the next day. He promised himself that he will never collapse again. He fought hard against his toilsome childhood and grew up to achieve his goal. Eight years later, he went into Yale University. His life story was printed in a Korean newspaper.
3rd Genre- A paragraph
Woody Harrelson said, “A grownup is a child with layers on.” To be brief, a grown up is a child with tons of experiences that has grown physically and mentally. Grown-ups have learned and they are more educated than children. Adults have numerous experiences, but children do not. They know more about life and the world than children because they were born before children were. Thus, they have experienced many events that children have not, and those experiences have built the layers for a child to be mature. Therefore, children have to experience, learn, and be educated to build the layers to be a grown-up.
4th Genre- Instruction Manual
* Steps to Grow Up
Step #1: You have to study and think to realize your potential. Your knowledge and understanding of matters will increase if you keep studying hard and thinking. This is important because growing up is not only about physically growing up, it is also about mentally growing up.
Step #2: Physically growing up is also important. Thus, you have to eat healthy, exercise constantly, and get enough sleep in order for your body to grow.
Step #3: You must think before you do something. For example, in a conversation, you have to think if your words can hurt the person you are talking to. Furthermore, you have to think what will happen in the future before you do things.
Step #4: You must be strong enough to take every consequence that comes from your actions. Moreover, TRY NOT TO ASK FOR HELP EVERYTIME. You need to know how to solve your own problems.
Step #5: You have to be sure about your decision. You need to know if your decision is a right decision. You must know what you are doing and what it will bring to you.
5th Genre- Mr. Salsich’s comments on Romeo’s story.
Mr. Salsich- “Hello Romeo, let’s talk about your story. I certainly understood how you were sorrowful when you loved Rosaline but she did not return your affection. That was a great start of your story. But when you met Juliet at the dance, you fell in love with her right away, and you kissed her? Mamma Mia! Moreover, you walked into her house to see Juliet even though her family hates your family? Goodness gracious! Your love of Juliet grew incredibly fast. You and Juliet decided to marry that night? Holy camoly! That would never happen at a Pine Point dance. Your and Juliet’s parents would never appreciate your ill-conceived love of Juliet. This is not a comprehendible story Romeo, this is not even what young children or grown-ups would do, and this Shakespeare language is impossible to understand. This is a solid D story! Romeo by the way Montague, the end of your story was beautiful, so do not get discouraged. Good bye.”
