SAMPLE INTRODUCTION:
FEATURING CONCRETE, SPECIFIC LANGUAGE
At six years old, I held very little property. My most valuable possession was a pale blue lunch box, featuring Buster Bunny and other Tiny Toons characters. Locked with a plastic latch, this treasure chest kept my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches safe. Each morning, I would place my lunchbox in a group of about twenty lunch boxes outside the door to Mrs. Kissinger’s first grade class. In the world of Rio Vista Elementary School, that lunch box symbolized me, an awkward little girl with glasses. Of course, my classmates were not aware (nor cared) that my parents had recently divorced, and I was new to the school for that reason. They could not know that the lunch box was a birthday gift from my mother who could not afford it. Still, when they intentionally targeted it, kicked it, and destroyed it, they harmed me. They yelled “what a nerd,” “K-mart Blue Light Special,” and so many other names as they kicked it. Hiding behind the corner of the classroom building and watching this event was a significant moment in a year that was full of significant moments. Between being the target of teasing and drowning in confusion over the divorce, I grew quieter, less certain of myself, and more afraid of what others thought of me. Of course, they were children, and children are known to be cruel at times. Still, I originally assumed that practices of cruelty were only the pastimes of children. I was so disappointed to discover that some children never outgrow the desire to entertain themselves through negative acts and words. Instead, they grow into adults who continue to engage in verbal cruelty. Over the years, I have grown to understand that habitual verbal cruelty reflects poorly on those engaging in it, not the victims of it. Still, college students who engage in verbal cruelty should avoid habitual use of their time for this practice.