<p>I’m having some trouble “reflecting” on my high school career, attempting to evaluate what makes me a “me.” I just worry that this signifies that I really am not that special, which could def. be a problem in this application process. Perhaps, with a LOT of thinking, I can figure myself out, but–esp. to those who’ve been through the college app process before–has anyone had/or is anyone currently experiencing this??</p>
<p>hours and hours of agonizing thought</p>
<p>^^ have you already been through the process, llabesab16 ?</p>
<p>never mind, llabesab16 , i looked at your former posts…congrats on ur college process success</p>
<p>In the beginning of college process, my D said she had nothing to write about. She’s had a relative uneventful childhoold - got good grades, never got in trouble, lived in a nice town, nice house, etc. Those essays led her to some deep thinking and look deep within herself. She wrote some wonderful essays. I think you will too.</p>
<p>I had the same problem. I thought I was an ordinary child with no future plans. Then I remembered how much I love nature and how worried I am about the whole global warming stuff. Now, not only I plan to write my essay about it, but my life really started to make more sense now, when I know what i most want in life. I am sure you’ll also find out something that defines you, but just didn’t realize how much so far.</p>
<p>When I applied to colleges, there was a period of about a week when nothing jumped out at me about my “uniqueness.” I shut off my computer, stopped thinking about college apps, and went hiking.</p>
<p>I got to the peak after 2 hours or so (it wasn’t very tall, around 500 M) and found a nice spot. Looking out at the city, I started to reflect on my three years in high school and what really meant a lot to me…after an hour or so, everything clicked - I had found the angle of approach that really conveys the “real me.”</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you need to take a hike, but when you’re not sure about your thoughts, take some time off, away from the computer and your forms and just think quietly by yourself. It’s quite rewarding sometimes :]</p>
<p>I honestly didn’t find that I had the ability to really look back until towards the end of my Senior year and after graduation, in the summer, when I was truly able to take a step back and not be in the midst of it, and when I finally did, what I saw really surprised me. My point in telling you this is that you should not panic if you can’t find “what made you ‘you’” in highschool at this juncture. You should consider focusing simply on one aspect of yourself that is truly core, and I know you could think of one, and expounding on that. The ability to truly reflect on even one facet of yourself shows a level of self-awareness far beyond most high-schoolers.</p>
<p>For a while I couldn’t come up with anything good to write about. I’d experiment with draft essays, but they would always end up being about an extracurricular activity; not a bad thing to any extent, but nothing truly unique. Then one night, I was *****ing to a friend about some issue I had with my dad when I realized that all along I had something I felt strongly about. I ended up writing a rather personal essay about my relationship with my father, and I think that it not only made me stand out as a candidate, but also helped me appreciate having my parents. </p>
<p>So I guess my point is, even if you might not immediately think of “interesting” things, or things that may immediately help define “you” in high school, you might find something right under your nose, what makes you happy, what makes you sad, etc.</p>
<p>And I’m sorry that I really suck at articulating things like this.</p>
<p>Think of the MOST generic thing about you and write about it.
Inevitably, it becomes different from everyone else’s. I’m not kidding.</p>
<p>College essays shall kill me x.x</p>
<p>Yes, when brainstorming for my essay, I felt as if I had memory loss or something. I couldn’t think of a special moment of an important event that wasn’t “special.” But hey, you don’t need to! Something has to be important right now.</p>