Dear Mom and Dad,
I'm sorry I haven't written sooner but life has been very hectic lately. Since I'll be home next week for Christmas, I wanted to bring you up to date. Last month my dorm caught fire and burned down. I lost everything. Just to make matters worse, when I was trying to get out of the building, I slipped down the emergency stairs and broke my right leg. At the hospital though, I met the most wonderful nurse. Her name is Cindy. It's been magical. She's helped me through this tough time and we got married last week. Even though she's new to our country and doesn't speak English very well, I'm sure that in time, our marriage will be great because we're so much in love.

Stop. Everything I wrote in that first paragraph was a lie. I wanted you to have some perspective before I told you that I failed all my midterms, badly.

See you soon!

Your loving son,
Mark