Jose Velez Valencia

Walking through the doorway to my new class of AP English language, there was two things I noticed immediately. The young professor smiling vibrantly at me as I walked into class and the distinct layout of the desk made in such a way that was not normal or nearly the same as any other layout. Walking into this classroom after 10 years of the same types of English classes, you could know something was going to be different. The nervousness filling my body from this being my first AP class was quickly erased after hearing my teacher speak in such a gentle and clear way. The more he spoke, the more fun I was having which only made me want to listen to his class more and more. Of course, looking back it is quite obvious I did not do excellent on the AP test, otherwise I wouldn’t be here ha. However, I do see it as one of the first times my view of the English language was changed. So impactful that I am surprised I even remember the details (since I tend to forget everything).

The class truly did remind me of a college class though. We would be allowed to go to the bathroom without asking or could eat in class, and with an iPad being regulation for my school, we could just sit there and play games in class without the teachers noticing. A lot of responsibility for a junior in high school or even a freshman when we received them but, I guess, in a way it taught us to truly appreciate what we learned. The first point this teacher got across to us was the fact that all of these things were allowed in his class whereas the second was if we really wanted to reach a state of comfortability in writing then we should listen to the way he explains things during class. That said, he did in fact, open my eyes to a whole other world of writing by reiterating and basically hammering the point into me that nothing we ever write is wrong. I can still see Mr. Gorman smiling at me telling me we have all of the creative freedom to write in all the ways we want. Having such a structural mind, he was able to break me free from this figurative cage my mind felt obligated to stay in, almost afraid to break out. As soon as this went away, even now, I am no longer afraid to write in the way that I feel is correct (although I will still listen to suggestions to improve my writing). This cage opening was my breakthrough to see the English language in a different way and how far the creativity of the human mind can extend.