Thank you, Kendra O’Conner!

My sisters and I arrived at her house every morning, sweaty and out of breathe from out frantic three mile bike ride. She always greeted us at the door, strait, red hair aflame, and proceeded to rigidly instructed us in the fundamental of writing. It was with her that I learned the true meaning of the saying “misery loves company”, and that anything well written was the product of hard work and tireless effort. The few months we study under her were all to short. But in that time she showed us that you can wield words like a sword, that you can cuddle them into submission and use them to strengthen your prose. She would sit down with each paper I wrote for her and question every statement, every comma, every idea presented. Nevertheless, this helped me begin to make my writing concise and effective.
This week’s assignment really struck home with me. I loved it beyond measure not only was I able to relate to it (I read Johnny Tremain in third grade also) but it reinforces the idea of questioning every sentence for compatibility, necessity, style and merit.