The Letter That Changed My Life

Lauren Johnson

For a long period of time I fell into the special category of illiterate people not because I
could not read or write, but simply because my schooling environment caused me to be socially
illiterate. The term socially illiterate is referring to my lack of communication skills with adults
and my peers. I remember when I was in the sixth grade I attended L&L Montessori School. It
was a very small private school located in one of those neighborhoods where each house looked
the same. There were some variances in colors and structures, but for the most part the houses
were identical. Same could be said for the students that were enrolled. Each student was taught
the same lesson, and placed in the same uniform of a white collared shirt and navy blue bottoms.
Although the outside view of L&L did not resemble a school, the little sign by the road that read
L&L Montessori School with a giraffe was the only form of labeling that could make this
appear to be a school gave any indication it was a school. The main building of the L&L
Montessori had only two classrooms. One for the Upper Elementary which contained fourth
through eighth grade, and the other for the Lower Elementary which had first through third
grade. I remember the Upper Elementary having around fifteen students my sixth grade year. We
would do most of our work on our own without lectures, while the teachers acted more as tutors
guiding our academic journey.
There were only three students in the sixth grade class so the teacher would separate us
into either fifth or seventh grade to do lessons. I was always put in with the seventh graders
while the other sixth graders would attend the fifth grade lessons. For example we would each
learn about different things based on our grades for example, the eighth graders might learn
about World War II while the fifth graders might learn about the presidents. The content of what

we learned was based off our capacity to learn and the way we learned. If one person was not
very good at memorizing facts the teacher would sit down and help them learn to do this. This
allowed the classroom environment to be more hands on and each student worked at their own
pace. My pace just happened to exceed those people in my grade. This unusually small
environment and personal tutoring like behavior from my teacher allowed me to excel in
academics, however; I never gained the experience of communicating with multiple people,
because of the small size of my class while falling behind on the social aspects of schooling.
Making friends did not come easily to me until I met a girl named Maureen. I remember
first meeting her was very intimidating. Maureen was a year older than me I and I had already
struggled meeting people who were my age, so. When I met her I was scared of appearing
immature. She is was one of those outgoing people who makes friends with everyone she meets.
Just meeting her and observing her personality allowed me to try to come out of my shell. Slowly
we became best friends, and because of our conversation I learned how to more about
communicating with people my age.
Towards the end of the school year, Maureen and I would talk about high school.
Maureen was going to be an eighth grader the next year and that meant high school was coming
soon. One day during lunch we began talking about her going off to high school and leaving me
behind. Wouldnt it be cool if you were in seventh grade with me and we could go to high
school together? It was just a random statement nothing special about it, but it got me thinking.
What if I could go to eighth grade the next year and skip a grade? I thought about it for the rest
of the day. I even asked my mom Mom what if I were to skip seventh grade? I already work
with the seventh graders on everything. She gave me a funny look and said, That would be up
to your teacher.

The next day at lunch I told Maureen I planned to talk to Mrs. Lynette, who was my
teacher, and ask her about me skipping seventh grade. Maureen thought it was a horrible idea and
she told me I should write her a letter that way if Mrs. Lynette got mad at me she wouldnt do it
to my face. So I started my letter. I wrote in my prettiest cursive writing and I explained how I
always worked with the seventh graders on most things and I understood all of the seventh grade
math. I explained how my best friend was in the seventh grade and I wanted to go to high school
with her. I snuck over to her desk after folding the letter up and addressed it to her. I put it near
the middle of her desk so she would be able to see it.
She was not in the classroom at this the time; she was on her lunch break while one of the
other teachers watched our class. When she got back from lunch, I was so scared to look at her
that I asked Maureen to watch her for me. Maureen watched and informed me that Mrs. Lynette
did not read my letter. She put it to the side of her desk to read for later. The rest of the day I was
scared. I was afraid she would laugh in my face and tell me it was a stupid idea. My palms were
sweaty and my heart rate would increase every time she came near our table. I knew she had not
read the letter, but I was so afraid she could somehow read through the paper and would laugh at
me.
When school was out for the day and I was on my way home, I was relieved and scared at
the same time. She still hadnt read my letter so I had no idea how she would react. I felt relieved
that she hadnt confronted me that day.
Later that night, my mom had just picked me up from dance class when her phone begins
began to ring. She looked at the caller ID and asked me why the school is was calling her. I
suddenly felt sick to my stomach and knew that I am was going to get in trouble for writing that
letter. I knew Mrs. Lynette probably thought it was a joke and was now calling my mom to tell

on me. They talked for a few minutes and I waited in agony while I could only hear one end of
the conversation.
When my mom got off the phone she asked me about the letter. I told her that I thought I
should be able to skip seventh grade since I am basically a seventh grader. She explained to me
all that would happen if I were to skip a grade. She explained how it require me to start doing a
little more work and I would be going to high school a year early. I tell her I am already a
seventh grader. I spent my whole sixth grade year working with them in lessons and in group
projects. Most of my friends were in the seventh grade. I know that this is what I want to do.
She told me she would talk to Mrs. Lynette about it the following day.
She had a meeting with Mrs. Lynette and they talk about all that this would require. Then
Mrs. Lynette has a meeting with me and explains to me what I will need to do. I work hard for
the next few months doing extra work. When graduation time comes they announce that I am
graduating from both sixth and seventh grade. It was one of those moments in your life where
you feel like you have accomplished something that you never believed you could.
My sixth grade experience overall helped me to come out of my shell and do things I
never would have done before. I was able to become more social. I met someone who helped
encourage me to change and become more outgoing. I learned how to communicate with
something other than speaking. This was significant for me because talking out loud has never
been easy for me. I was able to learn to express myself through writing.
I wrote the letter to express what I didnt think I could ask out loud. Through the letter, I
learned that talking is not the only way to communicate your thoughts and feelings. I was able to
go outside of my comfort zone and write exactly what I wanted. I was able to express myself and

accomplish something that I wouldnt have been able to do without that one letter. I would like to
call it the letter that changed my life, but it wasnt the letter that changed my life it was me.