A Rhetorical Analysis Of Amanda Alvarez

Rhetorical Analysis of Amanda Alvarez

Amanda is an engineering major at Texas A&M College Station. She graduated top 10 out of 450 in our class so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that my best friend is the type of person who always has an answer to everything. During our freshman year we had a few classes together and anyone who paid attention could clearly see she was so confident and independent, and I was slightly jealous as I was socially awkward and would sit quietly in the back. She was the teacher's pet who always knew what was going on and nobody really liked her for it, but as I was getting to know her I could tell there was more to her than what was seen on the surface. She wasn't always so outgoing and she did make mistakes at times,

but although she wasn't as perfect as she seemed her loyalty and friendship couldn't compare to anything I've experienced this far.
My first impression of Amanda was that she was a pretentious goody two shoes who never got in trouble.

It seemed as if her daily goal was to make the people around her feel unintelligent when she used words I never even knew existed. Based on the way she always looked put together with the perfect outfit and matching accessories any outsider could see that she cared about her appearance and what people thought of her. I didn't think we would ever have a conversation let alone become best friends because she seemed snobby and childish when I first noticed her. The first time I acknowledged her and really paid attention was during freshman year when everyone was talking while waiting for the teacher to come in. As I started listening to the conversations around me there was one that was a little more noticeable as Amanda’s voice raised slightly higher than the others around me. From what I could tell they were comparing their Geometry homework and the answers they had were obviously different. You could tell Amanda was frustrated as she kept tapping her foot and rubbing her temple, but I suppose the other girl just wasn't listening. Eventually it seemed as if Amanda gave up and let the argument drop but later when the teacher came in I realized that wasn't the case as she approached the teacher and asked who was right. Once the teacher confirmed that Amanda was indeed correct she held her head high and said "I told you so" to the other girl and her face turned an intense shade

of pink and all I remember thinking is how childish she was being. I understand that she got the question right and the other girl was being rude too but doing this in front of the entire class seemed entirely uncalled for. I eventually learned that she just loves to be right all the time and I know I'll never win against school related argument. Often if we do start an argument she always ends up winning because I’ll start to doubt my own answer before I can prove her wrong. I didn’t start to trust myself more, and her less, until I finally caught her trying to change my mind in one of the subjects I’m best at. While over at her house working on our homework she kept forgetting this one step in the problem that would mess up the process and lead the whole question to be wrong. I knew I was right but she argued it so well that I wanted to believe I was wrong even though I knew I was right. We eventually checked the answer and went over the steps together and figured out that I was indeed right but her predominant personality just makes you want to agree.
Amanda has always been an emotional person since I’ve met her and during our Junior year I noticed that she doesn’t mind crying in front of people.

I saw her cry so many times throughout the last two years of high school and every time I did I’d always make sure to go over to her house after softball practice. I always wanted to make sure she was okay and if I couldn’t go over I would call her after and just listen and let her vent. The first time I decided to go over was pretty nerve wracking because we weren’t entirely friends yet. We talked and laughed together in class and I would come over to work on homework with her but it wasn’t ever for anything not school related so I was really uncertain on coming over unannounced. I eventually made up my mind and picked up whataburger meals with milkshakes and went over. I didn’t know what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t what I saw because when I got there she looked completely fine and I was expecting some form of emotional mess. This was a type of Atypical dissonance because I had begun to expect her to be crying all the time but as I got to know her I learned that her parents weren’t really involved in her personal life and they always expected perfection. I finally realized that all those times I saw her crying at school were because she wasn’t able to cry at home. Eventually after realizing this and I knew she was upset I would pick her up and we’d get food from the drive-thru so we could sit in the car, talk, and

start to feel better.
As an engineering major at A&M College Station and probably the smartest person I know with two parents who really care about her it can seem as though her life is perfect but after getting beyond the surface of everything it’s easy to see that her parents really do love each other and they do care but they also expect perfection and her best all the time. Amanda struggles with anxiety and panic attacks because of her constantly striving for perfection. Everybody on the outside can see her perfect facade but if anybody were to see her have a panic attack they would be viewing an astereotypical dissonance because of her ability to show a put together appearance.
Even though it looks like Amanda has the perfect life with a loving family and the best education she struggles with her personal demons just like everyone else, even though she doesn’t want anybody to see it. She isn't always so outgoing and she does make mistakes at times, but I wouldn’t want the perfect best friend anyways because that seems a slightly boring and overrated. I want to say that Amanda grew up throughout the years and is more mature now but I honestly think I just got used to her childish tendencies although they are not as frequent as they used to be and I wouldn’t have it any other way.