Letter from the editor Dear Reader, Thank you for taking the time to reading my portfolio I hope you enjoy it and it serves as the thought provoking piece I intend it be. My goal with this portfolio is to show a little bit about my life, my medical history and family and then share some of my opinions on the important issue of civics. As someone who has had over 70 surgeries, I know they have had a strong impact on me and the way in which I face life. I feel as though it has made me a more mature person who has a unique and expansive insight on something not many people experience. This impact is in part why I picked that experience to describe in my sensory details essay. I also picked it because the assignment had to do with sensory detail, and I have always noticed that going through a surgery is an extreme sensory test that adds to the atmosphere. Family has always been important to me, and I have a great relationship with my sister, Noel, so when it came time to do an essay on the voice of a family member, she was a great choice. I was able to tell a great story through this and include some humor, adding a different type of writing then I would normally embark on. Finally, civics is something that I have been working on for nearly a year now and I have developed a strong passion for it. That is why when it came time to do a unique essay with a special perspective, I chose a civics op-ed. This op-ed is something I do hope to use in a publication/research piece I am working on to address the broader civics topic, so it was a great fit to begin this process through the assignment. I hope that the pieces in this portfolio make you think about experiences and issues that maybe don’t cross your mind every day or remind you to look at things through a different lens when the opportunity comes. Best, Michael D. Baumgartner
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