Speaking of which, reading your own freshman English papers is also good for perspective. I know I was definitely grading some better papers for my English comp classes than I wrote when I was that age. Anybody have any stories about the first essays you wrote?

The others I wrote for that first class (besides the one on the crack baby “epidemic”) were on: the question of viability in abortion law, a narrative about a job I’d had… I remember being so tired from going to school and working full-time during my freshman year, that I broke down in tears with my composition teacher during an office visit, and she gave me advice on finding a better job. That was Liz Kiszely. Won’t forget her. I still use her notes on my papers as a model for grading composition.