Jordan Parker

Professor Colombo-Russell

ENG 101- Freshman Composition

September 17, 2025

Cover Letter

When I was first writing my narrative, finding a good topic to write about seemed the most difficult. However, during the composition of it I found that it was kind of difficult to paint a picture in my writing. I also found that throughout me making the essay and brainstorming I got better at painting pictures with my words. I felt that describing senses was the easiest way to do it as well as saying how I felt in the moment and how that feeling made me act. I also found that the resounding message that came out of my story wasn’t something that I thought prior. When I first wrote it I didn’t really have a moral of the story in mind. However, after finishing writing it I felt that it kind of wrote itself. I always knew that sports is something that helps people connect; however, I never wrote or said it aloud like that. In that way I felt that the narrative helped me express something I never expressed before. I also felt that using the write tenses were difficult. This is because I’m not very used to writing stories, especially stories that are my own personal moments. Not only that there are some parts of my essay where I’m telling my story and there are some parts where I’m explaining what happened. It was a little weird to tell the story and then take myself out of the story to explain what happened. I also felt that it kind of messed with the flow of my story. When I was writing my essay I kept in mind that it would be my peers and professors reading it. In that way I made sure to write it in a way that was easy to understand because they weren’t there for the moment I described. If one of my friends that was there was reading it I wouldn’t go into much detail. Not only that for my drafts I kind of wrote my essay rough because I knew that it would get looked over and turned into something more refined. I also felt that because my experience was something unique I tried to make my language as descriptive as possible so they could see what I’m trying to describe.
I feel like the terms that stood out to me the most are the purpose and the context. The context somewhat has to do with the audience because it makes me think about what I want the audience to take away. As well as make me think about why I’m writing. I feel like If I didn’t think about the purpose my writing would have less direction because I would tell the story but not know why I’m telling the story. Without the purpose I wouldn’t be able to make a strong conclusion at the end of my writing. Context on the other hand helps me think about the situation that my writing has to do with. Like what my audience may know already or what I have to explain further. This would change how much I say or not say.

Jordan Parker

Professor Colombo-Russell

ENG 101- Freshman Composition

October, 11 2025

Language Narrative Essay

It was a Sunday morning like any. I brushed my teeth, grabbed a banana, and packed my book bag with my cleats, a water bottle, shin guards, and a jersey. However, I set it back down. I remembered that this week my normal team didn’t play and that I was picked up by my friend Mauricio and his family. My heart started pumping as I felt a sense of nervousness however, it was quickly replaced with excitement. “I’m leaving Ma,” I said as I opened the door. My nose was met by the nasty smell of the hallway as my ears filled with the chime from the bells on top of the door.  

         As I walked out the door of the building, the crisp, cool spring breeze hit my face serving as a reminder that the warm spring days hadn’t come yet. I walked to the bus stop with a sense of urgency, since the transit app said it was two minutes away. Luckily, the bus driver saw me in his peripheral vision and stopped the bus before it was able to pull away. I sat listening to music dozing off along the way, my body trying to make up for the lack of sleep the night before. My body woke itself up, feeling the familiar turn when reaching the field, and a rush of adrenaline ran through me. As I made my way up the hill whose steep incline felt like a 90° angle, I heard the shouts of players from the game, which preceded ours.

“Yoo what’s good bro.” Mauricio had spotted me and called my name.

“That’s who we playing?” I asked, looking at the group of guys warming up on the side of the pitch passing the ball between each other.

“Yeah, they’re fake nice, I used to play with a couple of them.” He replied.

He handed me the jersey we were using and pointed me in the direction of the bench we were using. I headed towards it and started getting ready.  As I sat there for a while, I soon realized that not a single word of English had been spoken the whole time I was getting ready for the game. It seemed to slip my mind that Mauricio was Mexican. With my limited knowledge of Spanish I knew communicating would be a challenge.  

When warming up I felt a little out of place being the only one not speaking Spanish, in fact, I was completely nonverbal. Growing up I was always taught that communication is a core and essential part of the sport, and throughout my years of experience I saw how effective it was. Thinking that I was going to have to play without it lowered my confidence, which was another crucial part of the sport. However, as we continued playing, I began to pick up on some of the words and phrases they were using. Things like “medio”, “cambia”, and “otra vez” were shouted frequently. 

When the game eventually started I had grown comfortable with my team. Because I wasn’t able to converse with them, they began to call me Trent. After the professional football player Trent Alexander Arnold, because of our similar physical appearance and we played position. However, I could tell by their tone that they weren’t saying to make fun but instead as a way to communicate more easily. As the game went on I continued to pick up on more phrases like “dale” when telling me to dribble or shoot and “saca la” when they wanted me to clear the ball out. After the first half we were able to gain a 2-0 lead, and we huddled. While I wasn’t able to understand what they were saying they still grabbed me and put me in the huddle making me feel welcomed on the team. When the second half started we were determined to hold onto our lead. We continued to play, and at one point I heard my teammate shout “cambia.” Hearing this, I looked up and played the ball across the field. One of the other defenders smiled at me acknowledging that I understood what our teammate said. After the second half ended we once again got together this time celebrating our 2-0 victory. The celebration was similar to all the other times I’ve celebrated after a game, the same smell of sweat, the same labored breaths, and the same smiles on faces. 

This story reminded me of the power that sports have on people. Despite me not speaking the same language as my teammates, through the understanding and passion we have for soccer we were able to communicate. Not just communicating, I was able to create new relationships with people that I couldn’t even have a proper conversation with. It shows the importance of sports and how communication doesn’t have to just be verbal. It also made me realize how much people limit themselves when they expect everyone to communicate in only one language. If anything, experiences like this show that connection can be even stronger when people bring different languages and backgrounds together.