Passion fruit (an essay that got me accepted into college)
“The personal essay can be a graded paper, a statement that reflects on your academic experience to date and your future academic plans at Westminster, or tell us about an issue that is important to you — personal, political, or social. This provides us with an opportunity to learn more about you beyond courses, grades, and other facts. It also demonstrates your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself in writing. We want to get to know you better as a person.” I read this on November 1, 2017. I was going to submit an essay I had written about how one needs to lose themself before truly understanding who they are. This idea was quickly shot down by my current english teacher. She said, “When writing a personal essay for college applications and scholarships, it should make it seem like you are so passionate about something that one day you will change the world.” My original essay did not meet this requirement. I began thinking of what I could write about. It would have to meet all the standards that a personal essay should include to impress an admissions employee.
A personal essay needs to be a firsthand story that shows change in the writer’s view of the world. For college application and scholarship essays, it should be about something the writer is passionate about. It should showcase self reflection and analysis, as well as contain a thesis statement. Simple right? Yes, if you have experienced childhood trauma & have a fantastic tale of despair and triumph to tell. I, unfortunately, came to the realization that I have had a good life. I had no stories that portray an issue or problem I have faced, that I am passionate about, and that can somehow relate to me wanting to change the world. It took me three weeks to come to this conclusion, and the due date of my application was approaching at an alarming rate.
I had no idea what to write about. I could not come up with any ideas. So that left me with one choice: I had to ask my mom for ideas. I read my mom the prompt and I told her what my english teacher had said. Within minutes we had created an idea.
My mother’s advice was to be honest. “Danielle you currently have an issue. That issue is writing this paper, and I think it’s impossible to say how you’re going to change the world when you are seventeen.” She was right. I need to write this paper, and I have no clue how I am going to change the world. But in our discussion we talked about how I am currently very passionate about a lot of things. This does not signify that I know what I am going to be passionate in the future, or even a year from now.
So much pressure is put upon teens that they should understand exactly who they are, what they want to do, and how they want to do it. It is not only a pressure from colleges put on students- like myself; it is a pressure put on us from teacher’s, friends, and ourselves. I am the only person in my life telling me it is ok to not completely understand who I am. It is ok to not know that one passion that is going to change the world. This is especially true when I am young, learning, and growing. I want to be able to pursue any passion that I have. I hope that when furthering my education, I will have the ability to do this. Although my aspirations will be constantly changing, I know that I will carry whatever passion I have with me until I have met my goal of life: to change the world.