Victoria Perez-Zarzecka

English 110

Cover Letter

Writing my partner Kassie’s profile allowed me to view her narrative through a new lens. She gave me insight into how her narrative came to be and the memories that resurged during the writing process.  I was able to see a new side to Kassie, one where she vocalized her love and yearning for her home, The Dominican Republic, and the testing journey she faced when transporting her whole life to a vastly contrasting environment. I was able to see beyond the surface and put myself in her shoes. She went through a challenging situation that wasn’t proposed as an option for her, yet she made the best of it and through the process learned a lot about herself. From this newly acquired context, I can tell that Kassie has a lot to share from the experiences she’s been through. I’m most proud that I was able to translate this new perspective to a profile for Kassie and give the audience context for who Kassie is and where she comes from. In my profile, I used pathos to connect the audience to Kassie’s journey and emphasize the power of learning a language and overcoming the obstacles that come along with it. Through this assignment, I was able to take on a new story and connect it to the bigger themes of language and linguistics. With Kassie’s story, picking up English wasn’t much of a choice for her and in fact is the case for most immigrants, in turn it can place feelings of displacement and alienation. This is why it’s important for our communities to be diverse, accepting, and supportive; to show the different tongues and stories the people of NYC have. The audience for Kassie’s profile should be people who are in the process of learning a language at an older age. I believe that it is harder to practice speaking in a new voice especially when mistakes are bound to happen. With age, our minds are more set in language than in childhood, therefore it’s no surprise that taking on a new tongue will be more challenging both linguistically and on your ego. Kassie’s unfiltered story brings relatability between the author and the audience. I admire this new voice I heard and could see her writing touch many people, especially in the immigrant community. 

Kassie Profile 

Kassie is a 17 year old Freshman at City College aspiring to major in Architecture. She currently resides in the Bronx where she also works at a toy store. Kassie is an immigrant from The Dominican Republic and her primary language is Spanish. She moved to NYC at 14 years old in Freshman year of high school. Undoubtedly it was a difficult transition for her since she was a young adult and not only had to leave her friends and family but also had to start a new life and navigate her way through a NYC high school. Adolescence is an already challenging and confusing time for most people and to also move to a whole different city, the most busy and bustling one at that, was definitely no easy feat for Kassie. Kassie also tells me that she saw her personality change a bit when moving to NYC, she says that she became shy and limited herself to speaking English. Her older brother already made the big move 2 years before her and her parents did. When they finally met in NYC it was him who motivated Kassie to practice her English, improve her pronunciation and expand her vocabulary. Additionally, she says her 9th-grade professor was a supportive and important influence on her advancement in English. She tells me “my 9th-grade professor taught me in a way that worked”. Teachers play an important role in how we view learning and our confidence in what we believe we are able to achieve. When moving to the Bronx, Kassie attended a public high school where she says many of her peers were Dominican or of Hispanic heritage similar to her. Further on she also says that she lives in a tight-knit, predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. To her this is a double-edged sword, on one hand she can feel more at home and the environment around her feels familiar to Kassie’s DR roots, being able to understand the Spanish language around her brings her comfort to an otherwise new and strange place. On the other hand, she says that this comfort and convenience doesn’t necessarily allow her to expand on her English capabilities. 

Despite her difficulties, Kassie has picked up a job in a toy store. She says that being bilingual has been an advantage for gaining job opportunities. In fact, she tells me that it was an employee requirement for her to be bilingual. I couldn’t agree more with Kassie, being bilingual especially in the two most popular languages in the world definitely opens up doors of opportunities. When talking about Kassie’s narrative I mentioned the parts that I felt were especially strong. Both during the interview and in her narrative, Kassie wasn’t afraid of sharing the struggles she faced or the moments she regrets. While speaking with her, she opens up about a struggle she is working to overcome, she feels that she limits practicing her English and because of this hasn’t reached her fullest potential in speaking English fluently. In Kassie’s words “I feel like I would’ve been a lot more fluent if I didn’t avoid practicing”. This vulnerability allows the audience to connect with her story and in correspondence, the author as well. 

The rhetorical device Kassie uses in her piece is pathos, in her narrative, she uses personal experiences that translate to moments of empathy and connection between the author and the audience. This method of eliciting strong emotions can be labeled as a pathos device.

When asked about the importance of language to her she responds matter factly, and that is to be able to communicate with others. A fun fact Kassie shared with me is that in Spanish the phrase “I love you” can be said in two different ways. “Te amo” is typically used in a romantic context while “te quiero” can be used more casually and friendly. I could definitely see her eyes brighten when she was able to mention these small Spanish phrases to me.  

Kassie’s story proves to be powerful and resonant through and through. She wants her narrative to give a voice to those who aren’t given the opportunity. She knows her story will resonate with the right audience and she gives hope to other immigrants who may feel like they may never find the familiarity of home in a new country. Some parting words Kassie left me with was her advice to those facing similar obstacles. She states “ Don’t rely on someone’s opinion and be confident in your voice.”  I think this is a powerful message that can help many people and it’s one she learned through her journey.