Cover Letter 

For my intended readers, who I assume are Professor Buno and other classmates, I hope to convince them of the importance of my chosen personal artifact. I not only hope to convince the readers of its personal importance, but its universal importance. Besides the artifacts’ importance, I hope to inform readers about my identity through the process of retrieving this artifact and sharing my inner thoughts surrounding it. 

Choosing “The Lakes” vinyl was the first thing I thought of when approaching this assignment. In planning on what to write I decided to focus on the process of retrieving this vinyl, and describing its universal importance. Through doing this, I aimed that my culture and identity would be revealed to the readers. At first I went into way too much detail about the day of getting my artifact, and I realized it was coming off more as a story rather than an account of the artifact. A lot of it, though detailed, was not essential to understanding the artifact’s importance. For these reasons I cut down on some of this from my final essay. 

While working on this essay, I realized that I find it difficult to write about the easiest topics. This is due to the fact that I want to describe and say so much, but it is difficult to do so within a limited amount of space. It’s also difficult to constrain yourself for the sake of an assignment. What helped me make the process easier, was narrowing in on specifics rather than writing more broadly. This part was a challenge, but I believe I mitigated it successfully. I would like to improve on this challenge in the future, by narrowing my topic or theme, so that my writing is more specific and focused. 

Class readings and discussions referring to culture really helped me in writing this assignment. Prior to the class reading I had only believed culture to be based on religion, race or ethnicity. I did not realize cultures exist everywhere and for everyone. My peer review also helped me add something that was missing. My peer reviewer suggested that I make clear of my relationship to Taylor Swift. I agreed with this critique and added context as to why a vinyl specifically from Taylor Swift would be important. 

A learning outcome I believe I really focused on within this assignment was, “Negotiate your own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre, medium and rhetorical situation”. I believe I worked on this goal because throughout the process I was thinking about my writing skills and how to best use them to accomplish my purpose. While doing so I would actively think about how my audience would interpret my writing, and whether or not they would get the visual or message that I was trying to explain. Lastly, I also explored mediums through adding a photo, and a link to the song I was speaking about in my essay. I feel using different mediums in this essay will really help readers get a better understanding of my artifact, and more strongly relay my purpose. My peer reviewer also noted how the addition of the photo really helped her visualize the product. 

Personal Artifact Essay

This particular vinyl was special because it was a limited edition release for Record Store Day, which only happens once a year. On this day each year, artists will drop very limited quantities of a vinyl from anything within their discography, as a way to support fans going to record stores. When I first heard that Taylor Swift would be releasing a limited edition vinyl for “The Lakes” (https://open.spotify.com/track/0eFQWVz0qIxDOvhLpZ40P7?si=9759e4909a774855 ) I knew I had to have it. I have been a fan of Taylor Swift since forever, and I’ve grown up with her music through each stage of my life. 

I called the only independent record store left on Staten Island to inquire about how many vinyls they would have and what time they would be open. They responded letting me know they had a very small amount and that they would be opening on record store day at 8 AM. I got off the phone and told my sister I would buy her breakfast if she accompanied me and woke up  at 5 AM on Record Store Day, on what was going to be a rather cold day. She agreed and our plan was set. We woke up on record store day, put on our comfiest outfits and set off prepared to wait close to three hours outside of this store. There were only nine people ahead of us on line, who we hoped weren’t Taylor Swift fans. Time went by as slow as possible waiting for this store to open but we eventually made it inside the store. When inside I asked the cashier for the Taylor Swift vinyl, to which he said I had gotten the second to last one, I was extremely excited. I left the store with adrenaline so amazed that I was actually able to obtain this record, and happy that the wait was over. I couldn’t wait to go home and put it on my record player. 

I had always been fascinated with the idea of the stories that take place behind each time I have purchased a vinyl. Whether it’s the story of when I went to the mall with my friends for the first time, or when I found a little record shop in a small town on a road trip. Despite having so many vinyls, it was easy to choose “The Lakes” as my personal artifact. I believe this specific record to be a personal artifact of mine because it reveals a lot of insight into me as a person. It reveals my passions, my personality, and my interests. I believe the story behind retrieving this artifact shows my determination, and passion for the things that I love. Furthermore, it shows my dedication and the hard work I will do to fulfill such dedication. This part of my personality only applies to the things that I am passionate about. Music is one of my passions and has been an integral part of my entire life. It has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember, and impacts much of what I think and do. My dad, like me, has this same relation to music. My parents are also extremely accepting and supportive which is why they didn’t hesitate to allow me to wait outside on the street of this record store. I believe this is representative of the family environment I grew up in. This environment was supportive, kind, and encouraging of hard work. My parents have always supported and fostered my excitement when it came to music and other things I enjoyed. They never wanted to stand in the way of what made me happy and  most passionate about it. This is something I have a lot of gratitude for, as I was able to grow up following my own interests at my own will, with encouragement from my family. I believe this also impacted my personality, of following the things that make me most passionate and working hard at them. 

“The Lakes” is a personal artifact of mine that is so important to me because of the story and meaning behind it. The story behind retrieving this artifact is an important memory for me, one that I believe shows a lot about my life and personality. The vinyl itself is also so valuable to me because it is a tangible piece of one of my favorite songs that I own and can play at my own will. I will always have an emotional attachment to this vinyl, and will be reminded of the meaning behind it everytime I play it.