Will Sulentic
September 11, 2014
Will Sulentic
Buchanan Hall, Lincoln Way
Ames, Iowa, 50013
Mary Reding
Ross Hall
Ames Iowa, 50013
Dear Future ISU Student,
Home to me means a safe place. Somewhere you cannot be harmed.
Somewhere that no one but you can relate to. Home has to be your home and no one
else’s. Your household is a place that carries endless amounts of memories that you
carry for your entire lifetime.
I was scared to leave my home in Waukee. I always loved being at my house
whether it was with my friends or if I was alone with my family. It was comfortable.
My friends and I would always be there playing Xbox, having bonfire, and making la
lot of fun memories and to leave all that behind was going to be hard for me. When I
first heard about loving in the dorms I was NOT excited. My brother told me that the
dorm life at the University of Iowa is absolutely miserable. The walls were cracked;
the smell was horrendous, and just so claustrophobic. My brother also made a clear
point on how unpleasant the bathrooms were. Just thinking of having to walk across
the hall in the middle of the night to a disgusting bathroom made my stomach turn.
Eventually the day came and I was faced with my dorm room. The walls were
white, carpet was a dark grey and the furniture was a rough aged wood. Boy was it
small. I was assigned a single dorm, which I was satisfied with. Eventually I
Will Sulentic
discovered that I was going to be sharing a bathroom with another student who had
a single dorm, known as my “suite-mate”. I learned throughout my first semester
that I loved my dorm. Having a dorm room all to my self was the best thing about my
first semester. I got to decorate and arrange everything specifically to how I would
make it. I took posters from my old room and hung them on the walls. I got a mini
refrigerator filled with all my favorite drinks. My dad hooked up my TV, Xbox, and
Wii right next to my bed. My dorm room gradually transformed into my new home.
I can rely on my dorm room to always be a safe place for me. Whenever I
have lots of assignments I need to get done or if I am feeling stressed out with
school, I can always relax at my desk in my room. At any day if I ever feel the need to
come home and just have time alone I have that freedom like I did at home. I never
had uneasy feelings of going to sleep somewhere that feels like a hotel or a
stranger’s house my dorm room keeps me safe.
Moving to a new place alone can be difficult, but in life you always got to
expect change throughout your life. When coming to Iowa State University have an
open mind, everyone is just as nervous as you are you’ll be okay. Dorm life is very
fun no matter what your living situation happens to be. You will meet a ton of fun
people just like yourself to help you get through the year. Iowa State University will
soon become your new home whether you think it will be or not.
Love,
Will Sulentic
Will Sulentic
Outline (Rough Draft)
To explore and share a campus place with an audience, explaining why it is
My angle is to show people that you can make a place away from home feel like a
new “home” to
Mood: calm, comforting. My writing will comfort someone who is feeling scared
about moving to a new place away from home.
Who am I writing this to: I am writing this to an incoming freshman feeling scared
about moving away from home. Someone who feels like they won’t belong here.
Someone who needs to feel comforted before leaving their own home.
REMEMBER: make reader feel comforted after reading my piece. Hopefully they will
feel better not only from moving away from home, but also moving all together to a
whole new place by yourself.
GOAL: My reader needs an assurance that they will have fun in college and not be
alone. Someplace to call their new home, somewhere to feel safe and get their stuff
done.