Todd's autobiography, second grade
An extremely short autobiography I wrote in second grade, complete with a self-grading sheet on which I gave myself rave reviews.
Another one from the old boxes, and this is even shorter than my third-grade memory book. It is from second grade, the 1995 to 1996 school year, which would have made me seven. The cover says, simply, “Todd’s Autobiography.” Here it is, in its entirety.
Todd’s Autobiography
I was born in 1988. I was born in Missouri. My favorite vacation was at North Dakota. My favorite Christmas was in 1994. My favorite TV show is Snow White. I made a pumpkins.
A complete life, age seven
That is the whole thing. Six sentences. Seven-year-old me apparently peaked at North Dakota for vacation and Snow White for television, and I respect the confidence. The pumpkin felt important enough to make the final cut, so I am choosing to believe it was a very good pumpkin.
The real treasure is the grading sheet in the back, which, it turns out, I filled in myself. I gave myself a glowing review:
- My sentences begin with a capital letter: yes
- My sentences have punctuation: (left blank)
- My indentation is correct: yes
- I checked for spelling mistakes: yes
- I wrote sentences that make sense: some
- I feel ___ about this writing: I colored in the happy face
So, having written “I made a pumpkins,” quietly declined to grade my own punctuation, and admitted that only “some” of my sentences made sense, I awarded myself near-perfect marks and a big happy face. That might be the most accurate self-portrait in the whole document.