Dear Paul, You may wonder why I was so hard on you. I was hard on you because I was you. My parents died when I was in high school and I was sent to live with my aunt. I skipped school, and spent time with a shady crowd. I dropped out of school, so I could earn money to support myself.

Years later, I realized I never expected much out of myself. If you're reading this letter, then you figured out what I did, just much sooner.

— Roger
In this letter to Paul, the author tries to complete the theme: "Life is what you make it." However, the relationship between Paul's experiences and Mr. Valentine's experiences is weak because the letter lacks details connecting the two. Rewrite Mr. Valentine's letter to better build this theme.