An MICDS tradition continued this week as 8th grade students presented their personal essays to their fellow advisory-mates and family members. The personal essay reading comes after the students studied the different forms of essays in their English classes: descriptive, narrative, expository and persuasive.
Middle School English Teacher Darrett Thompson said, “Every single student worked so hard to share personal experiences and feelings. They opened up their lives and shared their hearts with the community. It was an honor and a privilege to listen to the talented young adults of the Class of 2023. I cannot thank them enough for the experiences and lessons they each provided for us to learn and grow from.”
The essays were meant to serve as a letter from the author to the audience—a conversation about something the author felt called to write about. During the presentations, students’ topics varied broadly, from learning life lessons from comic strips and overcoming a stutter to developing friendships and learning to play a new instrument.
Eighth grader Aniyah Yattassaye ’23 shared, “Who I am today won’t be who I am tomorrow or who I was before or who I will be in the years to come. Every person has shaped me and changed me into the person I am today. It’s no longer who am I, but more so whom do I want to be. A better person, perhaps. A more confident and happy person, of course. But it won’t come easy, and you can never stop fighting or trying. And you will never stop changing. You will change over and over again. So, who are you? Better yet, who do you want to be?”
