Apology Letter

Fiction: Play with voice. To create the character, grab three random character traits from this random character traits (Links to an external site.) generator. Take the first three you get: that way, you’re more likely to be playing outside your usual choices.  Then the character is going to either write a letter of apology or apologize in person to someone – written or spoken is up to you. I suggest you do this as a ten-minute free-writing exercise: once you have the character traits, just start writing. Let the voice emerge and the voice decide what they’re apologizing for (and whether they mean it). 

Wise, Charming, Compassionate 

Dear Mrs. Harris,

I deeply apologize for class today. It was completely out of character and I promise that it will never happen again. It’s just that sometimes I get really excited and can’t help myself. When you announced what we would be reviewing next, I felt some sort of connection. Sometimes, the other kids call me a nerd and it really hurts my feelings. But you always make me feel like I am doing a good thing, reading during recess and writing during free time. I can only imagine the type of mother you are to your kids. I know this is an apology letter, but I also want to take some time to appreciate you. You have been the best teacher in my life and always understand me. Ever since I was in third grade I knew I wanted to be in your class. The way that you explain things is so much better than the others. That is why I am so sorry for making a scene today in class and yelling. I don’t want you to think of me as a suck-up or searching for brownie points, this is simply just me feeling bad. I also would like to ask you to not tell my mother this happened, for I don’t think she would take it so well. When I go back to school, I will make sure to tell my professor how good of a teacher you are so that you maintain a high rating. I understand this may be goofy coming from a student teacher, but I just want to keep things clear.

Thank you again,
Jess

Self Evaluation: This exercise honestly was not enjoyable to me, and I think it was the timed free write. When I set the timer I immediately felt stressed to find an exciting topic that the whole story turned out really boring. Going back and reading my writing, it doesn’t really make sense and is not a good read. If I were to do this again, I would maybe not set myself a timer so I could think of some better ideas, or maybe write out the ideas before I start writing that way I know where it is going. Also, I understand that the whole idea was to get some character traits I am unfamiliar with, but boy have I never felt so out of place. Wise, Charming, and Compassionate were very foreign to me, as I just don’t interact with those in the real world much.