Part Two (Taylor Jenks)

How I lost the Junior Miss Pageant

Writing Strategies
1) The detail that works the best for me would have to be when she adds a bit of sarcasm. “And even in this town where if you want to go to college, you better know someone who knows how to get you there because otherwise it’s too far away and too much money and too much trouble and way, way, way beyond your own intellect and sense of self to do it alone. How scary (get married).How wasteful (get married). How expensive (get married). How strange (get married). How pretentious (get married). How escapist (get married).” “(The cassette tape had been given to me by my Hispanic, juvenile delinquent, just-released-from-young-boy-prison-in-California ex-boyfriend Jim)” [How I Lost the Junior Miss Pageant. Bosley, Cindy.]
2) Bosley’s essay matters to others who don’t care about pageants because the message it is trying to get across. The essay talks about how Bosley was unable to see to be that perfect person and in trying to please her mother she just ended up hurting her.
3) I would complete the following statements: What I like most about your essay is how you were able to add in some sort of comedic statements to it. The main suggestion I have about your essay is the tangents that you tend to go off on could be more controlled they really seem to not have a real point.
4) Yes, Bosley does indeed deliver she lost the Junior Miss Pageant because of her question and answer piece she told the judges that her most personal concern was her mothers loneliness.

Exploring Ideas
2) Bosley’s point about beauty pageants speak to larger (more general) issues, such as competition, class, tradition, media, and so on because as Bosley says that “everyone has experienced the angst associated with the quiet pageantry of every day life…” [How I Lost the Junior Miss Pageant. Bosley, Cindy.] The anxiety that comes along with something like a beauty pageant can be found in any of the previously mentioned situations.
3) Any one in a public of private high school is under the same amount of pressure as someone in a beauty pageant. Everyone expects you to look and act the part to be the cool on campus or you will be considered a geek and that is social suicide.

Ideas for Writing
1) When I was in high school I wanted more then anything to make a difference for the students who were coming after me. Ever since middle school I have played some role in the student council. I was never considered on of the popular students so as my sophomore year came around I ran for student body vice president. I had held a position the four years prior but I came about ten votes sort of the position. One student was persuaded by their peers to run and because of his social statues he took vice precedence. There was no helping it no matter how good my campaign or how much experience I had I was unable to retain a position during the year.
2) This same year students need to pass the MCAS test in Massachusetts. I was told by many that I wouldn’t be about to achieve the MCAS scholarship. It is given to students in your school district who have scores above average. I spent day after day in a class room studying with my English teacher and a math tutor. I took the test the same time as the other members in my class. I waited about a year before I got my results in the mall. But my efforts were reworded I was given the MCAS scholarship. The significant of this experience is more that I was able to persevere through everything and achieve something no one though I could. The pressure to pass was bad enough but through out my high school I choose to be the best that I could and it was one of many things I did to succeed.