1) Although it may be difficult to tell this story concisely, I wish to share about the first coffee date I had with my now roommate and best friend, Madeline. This was an unexpected pairing from the beginning, as we seemingly have personalities that oppose one another: I am pessimistic while she is optimistic, I am a homebody while she readily explores, I enjoy spending most of my time alone while she would rather spend all day getting to know people. We were introduced through a mutual friend, as she needed roommates to occupy the other room in her two-bedroom apartment. Madeline and I had both agreed to share this room together before we had spent time getting to know one another, and so we decided to go out for coffee to discuss our expectations and desires for the year ahead. At the time, I was coming out of a difficult roommate situation, and purposely attempted to intimidate Madeline so it would be clear that I was not someone to provoke. Little did I know, my strategy worked all too well, and she left our coffee date apprehensive about our year together as roommates.
2) I feel compelled to write this story because as I approach the end of my undergraduate career, it has become increasingly clear that friendships never seem to develop with the people or in the ways that I expect them to. This story serves as a reminder to me that I must remain open to beginning relationships with people from unexpected backgrounds and experiences.
3) My major driving point is that friendships can develop in almost any situation, and it can be beneficial to remain open to friendships that surprise you and challenge you.
4) My specific target audience is people that are currently ending or starting a new season of life, in which it will become necessary to make new friends in order to establish community and wellbeing. Another audience that I may engage with this story is Madeline herself, as it largely involves her personal experiences as well.
5) My rhetorical situation and strategy will involve logos and pathos, most notably. Logos will naturally arise within my story, as I hope to create a logical argument that stems from a personal experience. Pathos will undoubtedly also shine through my essay, as I feel warmly toward Madeline and toward our beginning as friends. My strategy constructs persuasion toward both an idea and an opinion, since the larger point I attempt to make is that friendships can come from anywhere.
6) A multimodal source that may support and expand my story is a picture taken of Madeline and I together in our home, or a photo that emphasizes and showcases our close relationship.
7) There are multiple aspects, addresses and approaches within this essay that qualifies it as a personal essay. For instance, this essay will relate my intimate thoughts and experiences to universal truths. Although the details of my story are unique, there’s a relatable aspect of unexpected friendships that can appeal to many audiences. However, I will not simply retell events from my experience; instead, I will conclude about how my relationship with Madeline has shifted who I am and has allowed me to grow in ways I would not have been able to otherwise. This personal approach to persuasion in the context of unanticipated friendships and a familiar composition style is a part of what qualifies this essay as a “personal essay.”
8) The personal essay form of composition differs from the open letter form of composition in specific and subtle ways. The personal essay maintains the fundamental principles of composition, while the open letter strays much further from a traditional compositional structure. In terms of rhetorical persuasion, the open letter strives to deliver a specific opinion to a specific audience for a specific purpose, while the personal essay less directly delivers a persuasive narrative from one’s own experience about the common human experience.
A Composition of Self by Alexis Rivera 
I am immediately intrigued by your opening paragraph. It is ironic that you and your roommate/best friend are opposites yet get along so well. But as the saying goes, “opposites attract.” I am looking forward to learning more about your relationship with Madeline as well as how you grew as close as you are now. I can relate to your topic because I too am considering writing about how I met my (first) best friend. While my experience took place in the second grade and yours was more recent, I can expect our stories to differ. We both consider the person we plan to write about to be our best friend, so I am curious to see how our definitions of best friends are similar and/or different. I think you have a great topic which will be relatable to a wide range of people. Most people have had a best friend in their lives, so your essay could serve as an inspiration for your reader to go back and reflect on their own relationship with their best friend.
I really appreciate your motivation for your essay. Remaining open is an essential part of forming friendships and relationships throughout life; this is something that has been hard for me because I feel like there is a certain image of people who I can see myself being friends with, and often times my expectation does not meet my reality. Your motivation is clear to me and I think that the specific situation you are writing about will serve efficient in your exigence for this essay.
Your situation is clearly noted. I can already tell that you will be rather blunt (in a good way) in your paper. You do say that you are worried about being concise in your essay, which is something I struggle with a lot, especially when a topic is important to me. My advice here for you is to write as much as you want (second draft) and then clean it up for your third draft. Feedback from peers can help with this as we will be able to give input from an outside perspective as to what is necessary for the essay to communicate what you want it to, and what it could do without.
It seems to me that your major point in writing this essay is to share your personal experience in finding a (best!) friend in someone completely different than you, someone you never thought that this kind of relationship could form with. I really like your point towards the end of this draft about friendships being crucial to establish a sense of community in life. I completely agree with that statement and I think that that will come across implicitly through your essay.
Your stated audience is appropriate for your topic. Another audience that might be interested and benefit from your essay are anyone who is struggling with making friends, no matter their age or current stage of life. As for your rhetorical strategy, I think that logos will come across, like you said, through your personal experiences. Pathos will also automatically come into play for your readers who subconsciously compare yours and Madeline’s relationship with their’s and their best friend’s relationship. I think that including a photo of the two of you would also serve you well in making the writer behind the screen a “real” person. When people have an idea about who’s writing they are reading it becomes more relatable and easier to connect with the author.
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Hi Alexis,
I can tell how much thought you have already out Into how you are going to write your personal essay, I am very excited to follow the evolution of your writing. I think that the way you have described your target audience is brilliant in that I think everyone can consider themselves, as a college student, embarking on new paths each and everyday so I believe everyone can learn something from your essay. It Is so important in this stage of our lives to keep an open mind as far as friendships go and I feel I have had some similar experiences to you as far as my roommates go as well. I think you can also really tie in ethos to your writing as well, you are a credible ethical source in that you have indeed gone through these experiences. You are at a greta place in your planning for this essay, I can tell, and your ideas and strategies are very well developed. I look forward to reading your next draft!!
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Alexis, it appears that the BIG IDEA of the essay, or the major point to construct through composing the essay, is this one:
“…friendships can develop in almost any situation, and it can be beneficial to remain open to friendships that surprise you and challenge you.”
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