letterhome

The following letter was written by a student given the assignment that they were to write a letter home, know they would be going into battle the following day. After the students turned in the letter, they were shown the "letter home" from the Ken Burns series on the Civil War.

I want to begin with telling you that I'm fine. Rumor has it that the battles shouldn't last much longer. I pray that I will be granted permission to leave this war any day now. Not a day goes by when I don't think about you. You're always in my heart. Some of the best times I have now are when I think back to my childhood or the times we've spent together as a family. I'm so grateful that I have such a loving family and I'm sorry for ever taking that for granted. I now realize how privileged I've been and how much I have to be thankful for. Being out in the field fighting the enemy has made me think about how I've lived my life, and I've learned to seize every moment and cherish it. I admit there have been times that I didn't want to go on and the pain and suffering around me is overwhelming. But then I think about the people that I love and it keeps me going and motivates me spiritually. So don't worry about me, I'll be all right. Hopefully I'll be home soon enough. Take care of yourselves and I'll try to write often.