Most college applicants approach the essay requirement with any number of negative emotions. The milder reaction includes concern; the fiercer, more visceral one is dread.
I refuse to sugarcoat it.
My experiences as an English teacher have taught me that today’s savvy students have had one too many teachers promise an assignment was going to be “fun.” The doubters don’t bite, but the believers might, until they deem the task onerous, or worse, pointless.
It’s time to stop making promises to teenagers about what’s fun.
Plus, I’m less interested in what’s fun and more interested in what’s fruitful. Writing is exercise and exercise takes effort. They both bear their own reward. Once that’s established, we can get to work.
True, work isn’t always fun, but I know for certain it can be deeply satisfying. Don’t believe me? Look to poets Rumi and Gibran, to educators Drs. Montessori and Csikszentmihalyi, to trailblazers Henry Ford and Steve Jobs. In every industry of every epoch, we learn from experts that good work feels good.
So let’s work. And let’s make it satisfying.
To begin the college essay process, we must talk about ourselves. Is your reflex to say, “I hate talking about myself”? Stop right there. I’m turning that claim on its head too.
You don’t hate talking about yourself. You might hate hunting for words. You might hate being judged. You might hate feeling like you don’t have much to say. You might hate feeling awkward or arrogant or insecure or stuck, but you don’t hate talking about yourself.
I'll put it in a new light.
When you're analyzing Tottenham’s strategy, you’re talking about yourself. When you're describing your souped up Camaro, you’re talking about yourself. When you’re reminiscing about your grandmother or former boss or favorite teacher, you’re talking about yourself.
Does that make it easier?
Accept that writing your college essay isn’t going to be a blast. Accept that satisfaction from work well done is enough. Accept that talking about yourself comes in many forms. Then, in the end, after all the talking and writing (and talking and writing) is behind you, find an editor to root out unclear pronouns.
Or don’t. You’re probably not bothered by mine, and your college essay reader won’t be bothered by yours, especially after you’ve delivered a readable, authentic, original narrative where the one-and-only you leaps from the screen and into their living room.
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