Introducing_Yourselves

Introducing yourself — your name, age, and what you are like Where you were born and your birthday Your family — brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, others that you'd like to mention. Things you remember from the past Your neighborhood, where you live today and lived in the past if you've moved Your church, your synagogue, your mosque or other place of worship Your friends Your talents–what do you do best' Things you have problems with–what is hard for you to do' Your school and past teachers What you like to do What you don't like to do Your pets Your chores Sports you like to play Your favorite music Your hobbies–dancing, horseback riding, stamp collecting, swimming, karate, acting, videogames Your favorite books Things that make you happy Things that make you sad What you want to do when you grow up Your goals in life Your goals for this year The most important thing in your life at this time Other ideas There are tons of other topics you could cover in your autobiography, but you're not writing an entire book about yourself. Why not start by opening your word processor and typing in ideas that come to your mind' (If it helps, copy and past the list that appears here and use it to get you started.) Arrange the ideas in groups according to topic (like the topics listed above). Put all the information about sports together, all the information about your relatives together, and so on. You can do this by making lists or outlines in your word processor, or you can use a graphic organizing program such as Inspiration to help you. If you get stuck and run out of ideas, ask your parents for some help. –And email your grandparents or other close relatives. As you know, grandparents and favorite aunts and uncles like nothing better than telling stories about you. They'll send you lots (probably more than you want to know) about what you don't remember abut yourself. Some of it will be great for your autobiography, but some you may not use because you consider it too embarrassing. Keep in mind, however, that some embarrassing moments can be turned into really funny stories and will be certain to catch your teacher's attention and get you an A. –Like when at age two, you screamed at Aunt Sally's wedding as a soloist with a screechy voice sang about true love. After you get all of your brainstorming about your life done, type in your name and under it write about five adjectives that you think describe you. Maybe you put down words like: nice, shy, athletic, quiet, and tall. Use these adjectives to write the beginning of your assignment and to give you ideas for a catchy title. For example: Tallest Kid in the School, Just About I’m Harry John Hastings, and I'm just about the tallest kid school. Being tall can have its advantages and disadvantages, but there's not much I can do about it. It's good for playing basketball and reaching top shelves. What's bad about it is that people always think you're older and should know things you don't. That's not much of a problem for me because I don't talk very much and am, as my grandmother would tell you, "a nice guy." Because I'm so good at sports, most people don't realize that I'm shy. I wish I wasn't shy, but that's the way I am. Another way you might write this paragraph might be: It's Good Being Harry Nice. Shy. Quiet. Athletic. Tall. That's me. Harry John Hastings, Grade 7 student at Shadybrooke Middle School, in New York. I wish I could add the adjectives genius, famous, and brave to that list, but I can't. It's not so bad being Harry Hastings, though, because I'm really good on the basketball court, and my parents and friends think I'm okay.