open letter- didn't mean to post from before...

Dear Daniel Borzutzky,

First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak to our class yesterday. It was wonderful to hear what you had to say and to hear some of your writing. I learned many things from you yesterday, but there are still a few more questions I'd like to ask you.

Lately I have found myself question my future as an English major, as I'm sure my fellow students have as well. It is only a few months into the first semester and I've already found myself overly frustrated and face to face with some of our "Five Enemies", as Gabe would say. But hearing from you yesterday gave me desire to stick with it and it reminded me of why I decided on this major in the first place, because of my love for English. It made me feel much better when you were discussing your doubt in your writings. Even as a successful published author, you still are unsure of your work at times. This is very reassuring because much of the work I have been assigned in college, so far, is different types of writing that I am not completely comfortable with yet. Because of this, I have found myself unsure of a lot of my work upon turning it in. When you were in school, was there ever a point where you found yourself comfortable with all (or majority) styles of writing?

I found it very interesting when you were explaining how when you think of a topic to write about, you must wait till that topic is no longer "central" to actually be able to write about it. I can somewhat relate to this when it comes to my schoolwork. When I am writing for school is when I find myself most frustrated with my work. When I get frustrated is when I produce writing that I am not content with. So recently, I decided that when I feel frustrated is when I should stop writing and take a break. I come back to my work a few hours later, with a cleared mind, and I find it much easier to write. It seems to be a cycle, however, and a few hours in the same frustration takes over my brain so I make time for another break!

It was wonderful to have you in class yesterday, and I believe you had a great influence on all of the unsure minds in our class! Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Jessica Marks