Jordan Johnson

Professor Sarah Hughes

English 125

NBA Final Draft

Reflective Letter

My narrative based analysis I felt was one of my best works in this class. When I was

told that this was our final topic in this class I felt that I could handle this because I could truly

speak from my heart. Ever since I came here, I’ve found it easier to talk about about my life and

open up about things that always haven’t been so translucent in my life. I can tell that my life as

a writer has been more fun. I used to hate writing a lot, but now I enjoy writing but specifically

about personal subjects.

Some troubles I found were really none. I felt like this piece flowed very well and it was

easy for me to speak from the heart on this paper. I gained good feedback from my peers that

allowed me to expound on what I wanted to say and boost my paper into a great paper. All in all

I felt that this was a great way to end the class and this was a great unit.

Sincerely,

Jordan Johnson

Rough Draft
Jordan Johnson

English 125

Narrative Based Analysis

Born At 5 And Matured at 12

Being the product of a single parent household, means you grow up quick. Being that I’m

my mom’s only son means that I had to learn what being a man is by the time I was in high

school. By the time I was ten I realized that my mom was both my mother and my father. With

that being so, I had to have the thought in my mind that I was essentially the man of the house.

That meant I had to grow up quickly, learn to be accountable for my actions at a very early age.

This created a profound respect for all women and where\ my protective nature comes from.

Over the past 4 years my mom has turned into my bestfriend. As crazy as it sounds me

and mom didn’t have the best relationship. Being that I have always looked up to my father, I

used to put my mom on the afterburner. Meaning that my father always got my best whether that

be my attitude, my urgency to do chores, etc. But my mom always got the subpar version of me

because I felt like she drove my father away. But now as I’ve grown into the man I am today, I

realized just how important my mother is to me, and the grasp my father had on my life isn’t that

significant anymore. As I look back I should’ve had more respect for my mom, she’s my biggest

supporter and she only wants the best for me. I’ve seen everything she told me when I was young

come to life. Everyday was a different reminder of how to be great one day it would be “Your
everybody’s ticket out so if your down we’re all down”. Or “ Make the world what you want it to

be”, and now that I’m in college those words mean way more.

My experience as the only male in the house meant I had to make my own way. My

independence is very much my character because I had no real mentor or significant male in my

life. With making my own way I had to figure out what was right, what was wrong, what a

supportive and protective man needs to act like. I looked for advice in the wrong people. When I

was with my dad, I observed how he acted and it was nothing impressive or worth noting.

Everything my mom told me about my dad I realized was true, up until recently I realized my

father was a self centered, kid who hasn’t learned from his mistakes. My dad has been to prison

more times than I know of and has a horrible attitude that was passed on to me.

Being that I had an absent minded father, my great grandma raised me in Detroit when I

wasn’t with my mom. I call her ma now because she was like my second mother. She tried her

hardest to make sure that I didn’t know my father’s past so she made sure me and my little

brother never asked, or changed the subject when we did. I remember the last and most recent

time my father went to jail, I was about seven. The only thing I remember was that everytime I

went over I asked my grandma “where’s my dad?” and she would always tell me on a vacation.

Being a young gullible little kid I believed it, but as time went on I always had an intuition in my

head that it was something more than that. Fast forward to high school, gaining more information

about public services, I looked up my dad’s name in the system and there it was, the reason why

my dad got locked up all those years ago. When I saw what my dad was charged with, I
immediately got angry because it was like my dad never thought about me and my brother and I

wanted to know why? As I’ve grown up I’ve wondered how my mom found my dad, why my

dad hasn’t grown out of his selfish manner and constant doubt on myself that I was a mistake.

But in this paper I;m here to say that I’m past all of this and my mission has been clear ever

since, I don’t know how and I don’t know when but I’m going to make it out and take care of

everyone.

Now I’m going to bring you to the present, I’m eighteen and I’m blessed. I’ve taken my

position on both sides of my family as the one who’s going to protect and serve and the man of

the house. I try my hardest to push my siblings to stay focused at their young age because times

are changing, which means we have to adapt. This is what I think being a man is, being someone

that people can look up to, and not afraid to approach. Being raised in a single parent household

has its pros and cons and here are a few. For one, you can’t fully experience what having a man

in the house is like because you’re the only one in the house. You can’t really see a prime

example of what happy love is because your parents were never together, and everytime they

speak now it simply business, you. You might not talk to your dad because he’s nonexistent in

your life, which constantly leaves you asking yourself, “Why doesn’t he want me?”. Finally you

get jealous, when your friends parents are together and happy you always have that thought in

the back of your mind as to why couldn’t I be blessed with parents like that? On the other hand

some pros are that you value whichever parent you reside with because they turn into your

backbone.
 Peer Review

Dear Jordan

Wow, I really really liked your paper! As someone who also grew up in a single parent

household there were so many things that I could appreciate. Such as when you talked about

growing up, wishing you appreciated your mom more, or how many sacrifices you and your

mom made. I loved that you opened up and you were honest about your mistakes that you made
growing up that you realized now. I also loved how you were honest about your feelings towards

your dad and how it made you appreciate your mom more.

Something that I wish there could have been more of were examples of what you felt and

why you felt it. Like a part that I really liked was: “Being that I have always looked up to my

father, I used to put my mom on the afterburner. Meaning that my father always got my best

whether that be my attitude, my urgency to do chores, etc. But my mom always got the subpar

version of me because I felt like she drove my father away.” It was deep but also explained a

reason and an example as to why you felt the way you did.

Your last paragraph really hit home for me because of how you saw how far you came

and how you became a role model for your siblings and you recognized the things you

accomplished over the years. I think a really strong closer for you would be what you would do

differently when you have kids. For some reason I thought of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air episode

where Will Smith talks about his dad, what he did without his dad and how he will be when he

has kids. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI4Mv8R0mE0

I can’t wait to read the finished product! I am really excited to see where this goes! Good luck!

Best,

Audrey LeClair

Dear Jordan,

I loved your narrative-based argument essay. I could tell that it really came from the

heart, and that you spoke your truth throughout the whole piece. Even though your story is very
personal, it is still a story that people can relate to. Your argument is very compelling, as at first,

you explain how you did not always have a good relationship with your mom. You strengthen

your argument by providing your thought process as to why at first you sided with your dad, and

then how you grew into the person you are today. The use of quotes definitely help to make the

reader feel like they are there, and it paints a picture for the reader as well. When I was reading

your piece, I was totally compelled to sympathize with your perspective. Growing up in a single-

parent household can’t be easy, and it is a very complex thing. You do a great job of revealing

your “inner-monologue” to the reader to show them your perspective. I think maybe your paper

could benefit from having a few more personal anecdotes. You do a great job of “telling” your

story, but I think it would bring your paper to the next level if you did some more “showing”.

More personal anecdotes would help the reader to see more concrete examples of what your life

was like growing up. Overall, you did a great job, and I cannot wait to read the finished product!

Sincerely, Lily

Final Draft

Jordan Johnson

English 125

Narrative Based Analysis

Born At 5 And Matured at 12

Being the product of a single parent household, means you grow up quick. Being that I’m

my mom’s only son means that I had to learn what being a man is by the time I was in high

school. By the time I was ten I realized that my mom was both my mother and my father. With
that being so, I had to have the thought in my mind that I was essentially the man of the house.

That meant I had to grow up quickly, learn to be accountable for my actions at a very early age.

This created a profound respect for all women and where\ my protective nature comes from.

Over the past 4 years my mom has turned into my bestfriend. As crazy as it sounds me

and mom didn’t have the best relationship. Being that I have always looked up to my father, I

used to put my mom on the afterburner. Meaning that my father always got my best whether that

be my attitude, my urgency to do chores, etc. But my mom always got the subpar version of me

because I felt like she drove my father away. But now as I’ve grown into the man I am today, I

realized just how important my mother is to me, and the grasp my father had on my life isn’t that

significant anymore. As I look back I should’ve had more respect for my mom, she’s my biggest

supporter and she only wants the best for me. I’ve seen everything she told me when I was young

come to life. Everyday was a different reminder of how to be great one day it would be “Your

everybody’s ticket out so if your down we’re all down”. Or “ Make the world what you want it to

be”, and now that I’m in college those words mean way more.

My experience as the only male in the house meant I had to make my own way. My

independence is very much my character because I had no real mentor or significant male in my

life. With making my own way I had to figure out what was right, what was wrong, what a

supportive and protective man needs to act like. I looked for advice in the wrong people. When I

was with my dad, I observed how he acted and it was nothing impressive or worth noting.

Everything my mom told me about my dad I realized was true, up until recently I realized my
father was a self centered, kid who hasn’t learned from his mistakes. My dad has been to prison

more times than I know of and has a horrible attitude that was passed on to me.

Being that I had an absent minded father, my great grandma raised me in Detroit when I

wasn’t with my mom. I call her ma now because she was like my second mother. She tried her

hardest to make sure that I didn’t know my father’s past so she made sure me and my little

brother never asked, or changed the subject when we did. I remember the last and most recent

time my father went to jail, I was about seven. The only thing I remember was that everytime I

went over I asked my grandma “where’s my dad?” and she would always tell me on a vacation.

Being a young gullible little kid I believed it, but as time went on I always had an intuition in my

head that it was something more than that. Fast forward to high school, gaining more information

about public services, I looked up my dad’s name in the system and there it was, the reason why

my dad got locked up all those years ago. When I saw what my dad was charged with, I

immediately got angry because it was like my dad never thought about me and my brother and I

wanted to know why? As I’ve grown up I’ve wondered how my mom found my dad, why my

dad hasn’t grown out of his selfish manner and constant doubt on myself that I was a mistake.

But in this paper I;m here to say that I’m past all of this and my mission has been clear ever

since, I don’t know how and I don’t know when but I’m going to make it out and take care of

everyone.

Now I’m going to bring you to the present, I’m eighteen and I’m blessed. I’ve taken my

position on both sides of my family as the one who’s going to protect and serve and the man of
the house. I try my hardest to push my siblings to stay focused at their young age because times

are changing, which means we have to adapt. This is what I think being a man is, being someone

that people can look up to, and not afraid to approach. Being raised in a single parent household

has its pros and cons and here are a few. For one, you can’t fully experience what having a man

in the house is like because you’re the only one in the house. You can’t really see a prime

example of what happy love is because your parents were never together, and everytime they

speak now it simply business, you. You might not talk to your dad because he’s nonexistent in

your life, which constantly leaves you asking yourself, “Why doesn’t he want me?”. Finally you

get jealous, when your friends parents are together and happy you always have that thought in

the back of your mind as to why couldn’t I be blessed with parents like that? On the other hand

some pros are that you value whichever parent you reside with because they turn into your

backbone. Your not going to really realize it until you get older but, those people who were there

sacrificed a lot for you to be in the position your in today. Without these people your character

wouldn’t be what it is, you wouldn’t move how you move are act how you act either. All in all

without these people your personal timeline would be off and uncentered. Another pro is that you

realize what to and what not to do when you grow up and have kids. You see examples of what’s

been done to you, reflect on it and begin your process of becoming something you don’t want to

be.

My experience as a single parent product has been a blessing but, that isn’t the case for

everyone. I can truly say that I was blessed to have the mother that I have because my standpoint
right now could be way worse. I’ve had friends that are in jail now or dead all because they never

had the proper guidance from a male figure in their life. I’ve seen the spiral of disinterest of

education, going to the corner and starting to sell, or credit card fraud way too often in our

generation. Our current generation is so filled with trying to grow up fast we never get to enjoy

truly being a kid because, one we want to take care of parents specifically that one parent who

we see struggle, in pain and try to make the best for us .

All in all, I'm thankful for the way my life went. Without my life, my experiences, I

would not be the Jordan I am today. My mom as I said before is my biggest influence, my

biggest supporter and the main reason why I do what I do. I am forever in her debt, and I don’t

think that debt can be repaid until I graduate from Michigan and achieve my goals. Until I do so,

I will never be the complete and true version of myself.