<p>Have you ever read Tim O’Brien’s work? Mainly, “The Things They Carried”. In it, he says that a true story doesn’t necessarily tell a story exactly as it happened. “Truth” to him is not in facts but in feelings, so if you need to twist facts to get your point across (to get the readers feeling the way you want them to) that’s fine. That’s what a story-teller does… they manipulate events to bring across a point.</p>
<p>That’s just one way of thinking about it, of course. Personally, I see nothing wrong with changing a few things in order for the essay to carry more power. Obviously the event/person/idea is powerful for you, as you’re writing about it. You want the reader to feel as passionately about it as you do, and sometimes that means you have to change something. As long as the over-all essay is still “true”, that is.</p>