Dear David Sedaris,

I was first introduced to your book Me Talk Pretty One Day in the sixth grade by a favorite teacher, Ms. Padron. She read to us the chapter about your trip to france, and your problems with the language barrier. After school that day I immeadiatly went out and bought the book for myself. When I look back on that memory, I remember laughing so hard at such mediocre, every day things. The way you put these memories of yours on paper made me think about how much more entertaining random, daily experiences can be.

For example, in your chapter about your parents dogs, I felt the happiness and the pride in the animals, the willingness to carry around a shovel. I remembered being sad when Duchess died, but at the same time you presented the situation in a way that saw the comical side of the saddness.

How you relive your experiences with the world around you in your book really inspired meto look at life in a new perspective. I laugh more in my everyday life after reading your book then i ever have done before, and because of this I go through life with a smile. It helps me through the harder times knowing that there is laughter just around the bend. Thank you for allowing me to open my eyes and see how laughter can make the a world brighter place.


Sincerely,
Suzanne Galbraith

WA 3- 1st Draft

Dear David Sedaris,

I was first introduced to your book Me Talk Pretty One Day in the sixth grade by a favorite teacher. She read aloud to our class the chapter about your trip to France, where when you arrived you knew only the French word for "bottleneck." I immediately went out and bought the book along with my entire English class. When I look back on that memory, I remember laughing so hard at such mediocre, every day things. The way you put these memories of yours on paper made me think about how much more entertaining random, daily experiences can be.

How you relive your experiences with the world around you in your book really inspired meto look at life in a new perspective. I laugh more in my everyday life after reading your book then i ever have done before, and because of this I go through life with a smile. It helps me through the harder times knowing that there is laughter just around the bend. Thank you for allowing me to open my eyes and see how laughter can make the a world brighter place.


Sincerely,
Suzanne Galbraith

“This is it,” Elizabeth thought as she walked through the doors. The first day of high school. She should’ve had this day three years ago, as a freshman, but because of the insistence of her over-protective single mother, she was home schooled for her first three “years” of high school. With a deep sigh, she remembered the argument that continued to come up in her household.

"But mom, I want to be a normal teenager!"
"You can be! I just want you safe, so we are going to continue your schooling at home. You know I want to protect you. Never forget what happend to your father."
"Aw Mom please don't cry..."

Clutching her new messenger bag that she hoped was still in style, she headed towards what looked like the office.

When she eased open the door, she saw that everything was in utter chaos. With a nervous sigh, she sat down on a very unstable looking bench and looked down at the floor. After what seemed like an hour, a woman who looked like she was in charge asked Elizabeth if she needed something. In a barely audible voice she choked out
“I’m new here.”

Immediately, the woman sat down and introduced herself as Ms. Smith, head of the English department. After glancing at her schedule, she pointed Elizabeth in the right direction of her homeroom and wished her good luck.

Making her way to her classroom was not easy. Pushing and shoving her way through what seemed like a battle ground, Elizabeth was already fed up with high school, and it was only the first day! When she walked into Rm. 283 she was greeted by silence and 14 pairs of eyes looking at her. Quietly, she walked over to the teacher and said hi.

“WELL HELLO DARLING! YOU MUST BE ELIZABETH”
“Uh, yes?”
“I’M MISS HARVEY, AND LEMME TELL YOU WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVEYOU HERE! PICK ANY SEAT YOU WOULD LIKE!”

With sniggers, she took a seat towards the middle of the classroom. Glancing around she saw the typical high school stereotypes; the jocks, the cheerleaders, the geeks and freaks, the girls next door, the quiet artsy type. “I’m in for the ride of my life,” she thought to herself."I've just been transported into Mean Girls."

The girl in front of her turned around and glared at her, and Elizabeth’s cheeks immediately turned red and she looked at her hands on her desk. On the desk, she noticed, were carvings and names from previous students. Next to her, with a whisper, an artsy looking guy said
"Don't worry about her, she thinks she's all that, and she's not. I'm Dave by the way.""Elizabeth," she responded. "But you can call me Liza." Elizabeth had no idea where that came from, she had always gone by Elizabeth. But she liked it.

Just then, Miss Harvey began to call roll, and "Liza" learned that the blonde in front of her was named Carla. She didn't know why, but she wanted to know her, and possibly be friends with her.

Startling her, Dave asked to see her schedule.
"Here you go," she said as she passed it over. After a minute Dave looked up with a smile.
"We have three classes together, includig next period!"

"Great!" she said with a smile. "Maybe high school wont be that bad after all," she thought.
"Did you do your summer work for english?" she asked Dave.
"Yeah, I loved Black Boy, i thought it was a interesting representaion."
"Me too!"

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRING

There was the bell. It was time for high school.

“This is it,” Elizabeth thought as she walked through the doors. The first day of high school. She should’ve had this day three years ago, as a freshman, but because of the insistence of her over-protective single mother, she was home schooled for her first three “years” of high school. With a deep sigh, she remembered the argument that continued to come up in her household.

"But mom, I want to be a normal teenager!"
"You can be! I just want you safe, so we are going to continue your schooling at home. I don't want you dead like your father."
"Aw Mom please don't cry..."

Clutching her new messenger bag that she hoped was still in style, she headed towards what looked like the office.

When she eased open the door, she saw that everything was in utter chaos. With a nervous sigh, she sat down on a very unstable looking bench and looked down at the floor. After what seemed like an hour, a woman who looked like she was in charge asked Elizabeth if she needed something. In a barely audible voice she choked out
“I’m new here.”

Immediately, the woman sat down and introduced herself as Ms. Smith, head of the English department. After glancing at her schedule, she pointed Elizabeth in the right direction of her homeroom and wished her good luck.

Making her way to her classroom was not easy. Pushing and shoving her way through what seemed like a battle ground, Elizabeth was already fed up with high school, and it was only the first day! When she walked into Rm. 283 she was greeted by silence and 14 pairs of eyes looking at her. Quietly, she walked over to the teacher and said hi.

“WELL HELLO DARLING! YOU MUST BE ELIZABETH”
“Uh, yes?”
“I’M MISS HARVEY, AND LEMME TELL YOU WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVEYOU HERE! PICK ANY SEAT YOU WOULD LIKE!”

With sniggers, she took a seat towards the middle of the classroom. Glancing around she saw the typical high school stereotypes; the jocks, the cheerleaders, the geeks and freaks, the girls next door, the quiet artsy type. “I’m in for the ride of my life,” she mumbled to herself."I've just been transported into Mean Girls."

The girl in front of her turned around and glared at her, and Elizabeth’s cheeks immediately turned red and she looked at her hands on her desk. On the desk, she noticed, were carvings and names from previous students. Next to her, with a whisper, an artsy looking guy said
"Don't worry about her, she thinks she's all that, and she's not. I'm Dave by the way.""Elizabeth," she responded. "But you can call me Liza." Elizabeth had no idea where that came from, she had always gone by Elizabeth. But she liked it.

Just then, Miss Harvey began to call roll, and "Liza" learned that the blonde in front of her was named Carla. She didn't know why, but she wanted to know her, and possibly be friends with her.

Startling her, Dave asked to see her schedule.
"Here you go," she said as she passed it over. After a minute Dave looked up with a smile.
"We have three classes together, includig next period!"

Liza was so happy she had already found a friend.

WA2- 1st Draft

“This is it,” Elizabeth thought as she walked through the doors. The first day of high school. She should’ve had this day three years ago, as a freshman, but because of the insistence of her over-protective single mother, she was home schooled for her first three “years” of high school. With a deep sigh, she remembered the argument that continued to come up in her household.

"But mom, I want to be a normal teenager!"

"You can be! I just want you safe, so we are going to continue your schooling at home. I don't want you dead like your father."

"Aw Mom please don't cry..."

Clutching her new messenger bag that she hoped was still in style, she headed towards what looked like the office.

When she eased open the door, she saw that everything was in utter chaos. With a nervous sigh, she sat down on a very unstable looking bench and looked down at the floor. After what seemed like an hour, a woman who looked like she was in charge asked Elizabeth if she needed something. In a barely audible voice she choked out

“I’m new here.”

Immediately, the woman sat down and introduced herself as Ms. Smith, head of the English department. After glancing at her schedule, she pointed Elizabeth in the right direction of her homeroom and wished her good luck.

Making her way to her classroom was not easy. With the When Elizabeth walked into Rm. 283 she was greeted by silence and 14 pairs of eyes looking at her. Quietly, she walked over to the teacher and said hi.

“WELL HELLO DARLING! YOU MUST BE ELIZABETH”

“Uh, yes?”

“I’M MISS HARVEY, AND LEMME TELL YOU WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE
YOU HERE! PICK ANY SEAT YOU WOULD LIKE!”

With sniggers, she took a seat towards the middle of the classroom. Glancing around she saw the typical high school stereotypes; the jocks, the cheerleaders, the geeks and freaks, the girls next door, the quiet artsy type. “I’m in for the ride of my life,” she mumbled to herself."I've just been transported into Mean Girls."

The girl in front of her turned around and glared at her, and Elizabeth’s cheeks immediately turned red and she looked at her hands on her desk. On the desk, she noticed, were carvings and names from previous students. Next to her, with a whisper, an artsy looking guy said

"Don't worry about her, she thinks she's all that, and she's not. I'm Dave by the way."
"Elizabeth," she responded. "But you can call me Liza." Elizabeth had no idea where that came from, she had always gone by Elizabeth. But she liked it.

Just then, Miss Harvey began to call roll, and "Liza" learned that the blonde in front of her was named Carla.

WA1- Final

My sisters and I treated the whole idea of another baby in the house as a joke. The baby’s name was to be Lola and this to us was extremely funny. For days we walked around singing the classic Barry Manilow song Copacabana. Obviously Dad had no say in that, secondly, we just had no more room in our house. Yes, it’s the biggest one in the neighborhood, but when you have two parents, six kids and a baby on the way, that really doesn’t make a huge difference. I was personally excited to have another baby around; I even hoped that I would get home in time from the LIYO tour for the birth. I didn’t understand why my sisters were so annoyed to hear about the baby.

I had a lot of time to think while I was away and I knew, deep down, that this baby was going to change my life, and well, it seemed like it wasn’t going to be in a good way. My father would no longer see me as his baby girl. There was a new daddy’s little girl on the way. The funny thing about this is that I didn’t figure out what that sinking feeling meant until, after I got home from my six week summer trip. I saw how spoiled this unborn angel already was, with at least 20 pairs of designer socks. Socks. I kept asking myself why it had to be a girl. I was going to loose my daddy and well that just wasn’t something I was ready for.

The day my stepmother went into labor was one of the most stressful days of my life. My two older sisters were at the beach with our mom, (I had chosen not to go because I had gotten home from my trip just a week earlier.) When I got home from work that day, I was told that Jess was having contractions, but they’re not serious yet. I went to be at 11 o’clock that night, not realizing I would be woken at one am to my dad telling me I had to get up with my two little brothers in the morning, get them dressed and fed, and ready to be picked up to go see Lola. I can’t say that I wasn’t excited for the new baby, but it my emotions were very mixed up. Either this baby was going to just make my life more chaotic and loud but overall happy, or she was going to make is so my family was completely divided based on mother. I was anxious and scared to see what the outcome would be.

On August 13^th, Jack, the one year old, decided to wake up at five thirty in the morning. I was running on a five hours of sleep and I had to get him changed, fed, dressed, and play with him until Guy, the 4 year old, woke. The process restarted as I dressed and fed Guy just as I did with Jack. Finally, after was seemed like three days, my grandmother got to the house, an hour later than expected. Meanwhile, I had showered, eaten and gotten ready to go see my new sister all with two energetic boys in tow. I have probably never felt so on top of the world and exhausted, all at the same time.

After my grandmother and I got the boys dropped off (with a very tearful goodbye) at the babysitter’s, it was finally time to see the little baby that was going to rock my world. When we got to the hospital, we tiptoed into the room with big grins, only to find that Lola was in the nursery getting her measurements done. I was so anxious, I was literally pacing around. As soon as the nurses brought her in, every single negative thought I ever had about that baby was gone.

She was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

WA1- 2nd Draft

My sisters and I treated the whole idea of another baby in the house as a joke. The baby’s name was to be Lola and this to us was extremely funny. For days we walked around singing the classic Barry Manilow song Copacabana. Obviously Dad had no say in that. Secondly we just had no more room in our house. Yes, it’s the biggest one in the neighborhood, but when you have two parents, six kids and a baby on the way, that really doesn’t make a huge difference. I was personally excited to have another baby around; I even hoped that I would get home in time from the LIYO tour for the birth. I didn’t understand why my sisters were so annoyed to hear about the baby.

I had a lot of time to think while I was away and I knew deep down that this baby was going to change my life, and well, it seemed like it wasn’t going to be in a good way. My father would no longer see me as his baby girl. There was a new daddy’s little girl on the way. The funny thing about this is that I didn’t figure out what that sinking feeling meant until after I got home from my six week summer trip. I saw how spoiled this unborn angel already was, with at least 20 pairs of designer socks. Socks. I kept asking myself why it had to be a girl. I was going to loose my daddy and well that just wasn’t something I was ready for.

The day my stepmother went into labor was one of the most stressful days of my life. My two older sisters were at the beach with our mom, (I had chosen not to go because I had gotten home from my trip just a week earlier.) When I got home from work that day, I was told that Jess is having contractions, but they’re not serious yet. I went to be at 11 o’clock that night, not realizing I would be woken up at 1 am to my dad telling me I had to get up with my two little brothers in the morning, get them dressed and fed, and ready to be picked up to go see Lola. I can’t say that I wasn’t excited for the new baby, but it my emotions were very mixed up. Either this baby was going to just make my life more chaotic and loud but overall happy, or she was going to make is so my family was completely divided based on mother. I was anxious and scared to see what the outcome would be.

On August 13^th, Jack, the one year old, decided to wake up at five thirty in the morning. I was running on a 5 hours of sleep and I had to get him changed, fed, dressed, and play with him until Guy, the 4 year old, woke up. Then the process repeated itself. Finally, after was seemed like 3 days, my grandmother got to the house, an hour later than expected. Meanwhile, I had showered, eaten and gotten ready to go see my new sister all with two energetic boys in tow. I have probably never felt so on top of the world and exhausted, all at the same time.

After my grandmother and I got the boys dropped off (with a very tearful goodbye) at the babysitter’s, it was finally time to see the little baby that was going to rock my world. When we got to the hospital, we tiptoed into the room with big grins, only to find that Lola was in the nursery getting her measurements done. I was literally pacing I was so anxious. As soon as the nurses brought her in, every single negative thought I ever had about that baby was gone.

She was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

WA1

My sisters and I treated the whole idea of another baby in the house as a joke. The baby’s name was to be Lola (either she’s a showgirl or a transvestite) and this to us was extremely funny. Obviously Dad had no say in that. Secondly we just had no more room in our house. Yes, it’s the biggest one in the neighborhood, but when you have two parents, six kids and a baby on the way, that really doesn’t make a huge difference. I was personally excited to have another baby around; I even hoped that I would get home in time from the LIYO tour for the birth. I didn’t understand why my sisters were so annoyed to hear about the baby.

I had a lot of time to think while I was away and I knew deep down that this baby was going to change my life, and well, it seemed like it wasn’t going to be in a good way. My father would no longer see me as his baby girl. There was a new daddy’s little girl on the way. The funny thing about this is that I didn’t figure out what that sinking feeling meant until after I got home from my six week summer trip. I saw how spoiled this unborn angel already was, with at least 20 pairs of designer socks. Socks. I kept asking myself why it had to be a girl. I was going to loose my daddy and well that just wasn’t something I was ready for.

The day my stepmother went into labor was one of the most stressful days of my life. My two older sisters were at the beach with our mom, (I had chosen not to go because I had gotten home from my trip just a week earlier.) When I got home from work that day, I was told that Jess is having contractions, but they’re not serious yet. I went to be at 11 o’clock that night, not realizing I would be woken up at 1 am to my dad telling me I had to get up with my two little brothers in the morning, get them dressed and fed, and ready to be picked up to go see Lola. I can’t say that I wasn’t excited for the new baby, but it my emotions were very mixed up.

Jack, the one year old, decided to wake up at five thirty that morning. I was running on a 5 hours of sleep and I had to get him changed, fed, dressed, and play with him until Guy, the 4 year old, woke up. Then the process repeated itself. Finally, after was seemed like 3 days, my grandmother got to the house, an hour later than expected. Meanwhile, I had showered, eaten and gotten ready to go see my new sister all with two energetic boys in tow. I have probably never felt so on top of the world and exhausted, all at the same time.

After my grandmother and I got the boys dropped off (with a very tearful goodbye) at the babysitter’s, it was finally time to see the little baby that was going to rock my world. When we got to the hospital, we tiptoed into the room with big grins, only to find that Lola was in the nursery getting her measurements done. I was literally pacing I was so anxious. As soon as the nurses brought her in, every single negative thought I ever had about that baby was gone.

She was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.