To whoever reads this letter,

AP American Government is nothing to mess around with. It’s a difficult class with a lot of vocabulary and a heavy reading load. So I would advise you to be consistent in studying and reading every night because that’s something that I struggled with. I was too inconsistent. I read some nights and other nights I didn’t. When I look back on the decisions that I made then, I wish I could take them back. I didn’t fail the class, but in my heart I felt like I failed because I didn’t apply myself as much. Don’t make the same mistakes that I did and don’t put yourself in the position to say: “I wish I could’ve done this” or “I wish I could’ve done that”. Just do whatever it takes to achieve a high grade in this class. Ms. Sakmar, my teacher, likes students with a high motors and great work ethic. I had a motor, but I didn’t use it to the best of my abilities and my work ethic was off because I didn’t apply myself as much. I tried hiding it, but I couldn’t. If there’s one thing you need to know, it’s that when you mess up, own up to it. Don’t try to hide your mistake because you can’t hide from yourself or your past mistakes. So expect your character to be tested and expect to have peaks and valleys because this class will push you to your limits.

If you want to succeed in this class, there’s one solution to your success: STUDY YOUR VOCABULARY. The amount of vocabulary words in this class is off the charts. It’s going to be tough trying to remember all of them, but vocabulary opens doors for you in this class. You can solve the toughest of questions just by picking certain words out and finding a vocabulary word that relates to them. For example, when I was asked about the purpose of the 14^th Amendment, I remembered one vocabulary term and that was the incorporation doctrine, which simply applied the Bill of Rights to the states. I got the question right and I felt good about it because I was able to incorporate one vocabulary word to the question in order to get it right. So you should definitely know your vocabulary because it will open the doors of success for you. Another thing to help you succeed in this class is time management. I still struggle with managing my time to this day and my parents get on me about. I don’t wait until the last minute for everything, but I do for some things. Waiting until the last minute will only put more pressure on you and it just might make you mess up. Some people work good under pressure (like myself sometimes), but not everyone has that gift. So my advice to you is DO NOT wait until the last minute to do an assignment because it can really mess you up.

The most important skill I learned in this course is humility. I’m not a very arrogant person, I’m actually very confident, but sometimes that confidence does become arrogance. I came into this class thinking that it would be easy, but I had another thing coming. I slacked off. I turned in most of my homework, but those ones that I didn’t do could have been more points for me if I wasn’t so stubborn. Walk through life with a humble soul. When you go through life beating your chest and wanting everyone to look at you, it isn’t a good look or a good beginning. In the end, life will punch you right in the face and you’ll be knocked out cold, but eventually you’ll wake up to reality. I went through this class thinking that I was Superman, but I realized that I wasn’t and that I can’t try to do everything myself with no help. You’re going to need help along the way in life no matter what. You can be the best at everything, but you can’t forget that you had help getting to the top. Here’s a something I told to my brother a while back when he was being prideful and life hit him with reality, “A man isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart. Raw strength and power can only take you so far, but your heart can guide you to the end of time. Arrogance kills a man, but confidence raises him up for all men to see. You don’t have to beat your chest for people to see you. If you want to be seen…do the right thing”. Always remember that because that will take you far in life.

The most important topics that I learned were the institutions (Congress, the presidency, bureaucracy, and the courts). The institutions are important because they are what make this country run. You have to understand their respective roles. Congress makes the law, the presidency enforces the law, the courts interpret the law, and the bureaucracy implements the law and when one institution tries to do the job of another, there will be conflict. A government can’t function if there’s a bunch of conflict going on within it. Each institution must know their respective role in making the government run and not try to take on another. The institutions remind me of football. If the linebacker tries to do the job of the safety, the defense can’t function and be successful in stopping the opposing offense. The institutions teach you to know your place. That’s what I learned from the institutions.

My favorite activity in this class was the iPod ideology project, in which you pick two songs and justify whether the song is liberal or conservative based on the lyrics. This activity was fun to me because it showed me that you can learn a lot in song. You can gain a political understanding of things from a song. The songs I chose were, “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West and “My Life, Your Entertainment (feat. Usher)” by T.I. I said that both songs were conservative because in “Jesus Walks”, Kanye basically says that the radio will let an artist talk about sex, drugs, and violence, but when an artist mentions Jesus, it gets edited off the radio. Most conservatives believe in tradition and Christianity so they would feel offended in the fact that some radio stations edited the mention of God or Jesus in a song. In “My Life, Your Entertainment”, T.I. talks about how the media interferes with the private lives of people and they need to give people their privacy instead of trying to embarrass them. Conservatives believe that the media shouldn’t interfere with the privacy of individuals, therefore making the song conservative.

I pray that you listened to everything I just told you because I want you to do well in this class. Listen to everything I told you because it will help you in the success of passing this class. Stay humble, be confident, don’t slack off, and manage your time well so that you may go far. This class will only be as hard as you make it and when you make it harder than it needs to be, you’ll suffer the consequences. So do better than I did and don’t make the mistakes that I made. I hope you do well in this class and I hope you took my advice.

Be strong and courageous,