Friendly Letter (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

A Personal Response to “Friendly Letter”

by Jena Blasingame

Dear Quincy Marks,

In “Friendly Letter,” you describe the experiences you had when you attended a L.A. Lakers vs.

Cleveland Cavaliers game. You also said that sometimes in school you make small mistakes that can

hurt you in the long run. When I was reading this I felt excited, interested, and disappointed at the same

time.

I was excited to read that you went and saw your two favorite teams. The Cleveland Cavaliers are

my favorite team as well. When I read you got to meet Lebron James, I was excited for you. I would love

to have the opportunity to shoot around with Lebron James and get a few pointers from him about the

game. He is a very talented and knowledgeable individual that could help a player become successful. If

I had the chance to do what you did, I would have enjoyed it very much.

Secondly, I was very interested to hear that you got a chance to play basketball for the U.S.A.

Youth Olympics team for a summer in Holland. It must have been really fun meeting new players,

people, and being able to play around the world. If I ever got the chance to do this, I would because the

experiences would be lifechanging. You never know when you are going to meet a life-long friend. I have

been playing basketball for a long time, and I personally have met life-long friends.

Lastly, I felt disappointed to hear you make small mistakes in school that hurt you in the long run.

First hand you should know that small things matter just as much as the big things since you are a

basketball player. Basketball has taught me that hard work and putting in the extra effort, even for the

small things, make a big difference whether it is in a basketball game or in the classroom. I hope you

change your bad habits soon, so they won’t catch up to you and hurt you in the end.

I know from personal experience that basketball is not just a sport or game, but it is a life lesson

that stays with you for life. So if you work hard out on the court to win games and put that same effort in

the classroom and in life, you will see that the end results are monumental and you will be where you

want in life.

Sincerely,

Jena Blasingame

Jena wrote this personal response while enrolled in English 70 in the Spring 2011 semester.

Friendly Letter Page 2