Have you ever wondered why people write essays? From my experience, I have been writing essays since I was in first grade. As I got older, however, the essay questions became harder; the essays longer. Gone were the cute questions easily answerable by a yes or a no and the meaningless essay only your six-year-old self can write and get away with it.
I can never forget the fact when I first wrote a proper essay that I was proud of. For the first time, I garnered full marks and a stamp my little self always dreamed of having. Looking back, I realized a deeper reason of my pride. If one compares that essay to the essays I did in first grade, one can see a lot of differences. The former was full in the sense that it had more meaning and understanding than the latter. Like me, it "grew up" and became more mature.
Now, since I am in the fourth and last year of high school, essays are everywhere. Test essays, reflection essays, project essays, college application essays; it's like teachers have this gigantic pile of deep and reflective questions that they're too happy to give out. (Good job! Here's an essay question that's so deep you question your purpose in this world, yourself, and whatnot.)
Honestly, despite all the bad reputation it gets, I have a soft spot for essays. When I write them, I feel like I have been transported to another world. In this world, I can write whatever I want, the emotions I'm currently feeling, everything, without the fear of judgement weighing me down. I feel infinite, to quoteCharlie in Stephen Chboksy's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. As a result, my essays are passionate, full of what I consider my voice as a writer.
Faced with this question, however, "Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped define you as a person?" I am at a total loss. I do not know what experiences I should write about or the accomplishments that have defined me as a person. I have wrote and rewrote what feels like a hundred essays only to crumple them up and start again, a waste of time and paper. I have sat in the same chair, in the same spot for days, going down memory lane, and reevaluating myself in hopes of finding an experience, an accomplishment- anything!- that have made me who I am today. I was so desperate that I did not even care if that experience or accomplishment defined me; as long as I have something to write about, anything would do.
Seeing as this is the nth essay I'm writing, I have realized why I am suffering from this block. It is because, to simply put, I do not have experiences or accomplishments that defined me as a person, or if I do, I cannot remember them anymore. Sure, there might be experiences and accomplishments that stood out, but they never really made much of an impact. Experiences, as the famous saying goes, are the best teachers. To me, they were just fulfilling that role. Indeed, through them, I have gained and learned valuable lessons and insights that were essential in the growth of my character and being; it never happened that because of that particular experience or accomplishment, I was now known as this or that. For me, those experiences or accomplishments were not meant to define; they were meant to help.
To this day, an experience or accomplishment that defines me still has not happened. Am I worried? No. Should I be? I don't think so. In the book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, it says that there is a time for everything. Maybe now is not the right time for me to have that experience or accomplishment; maybe it would still take 5,10,50,100 years before that happens. However, I am not afraid because I know my time will come; I will wait. Until then, I treat everyday as if this was the experience I am waiting for; I treat my friends and family and all those who are dear to me as my greatest accomplishments in life. My daily mission: laugh longer, smile wider, pray harder, be friendlier, stand taller, and do better than what I did the day before.
--------------
Hi! This is my application essay for ateneo de manila university. Hopefully, I can get it. Constructive criticism is much appreciated :)
I can never forget the fact when I first wrote a proper essay that I was proud of. For the first time, I garnered full marks and a stamp my little self always dreamed of having. Looking back, I realized a deeper reason of my pride. If one compares that essay to the essays I did in first grade, one can see a lot of differences. The former was full in the sense that it had more meaning and understanding than the latter. Like me, it "grew up" and became more mature.
Now, since I am in the fourth and last year of high school, essays are everywhere. Test essays, reflection essays, project essays, college application essays; it's like teachers have this gigantic pile of deep and reflective questions that they're too happy to give out. (Good job! Here's an essay question that's so deep you question your purpose in this world, yourself, and whatnot.)
Honestly, despite all the bad reputation it gets, I have a soft spot for essays. When I write them, I feel like I have been transported to another world. In this world, I can write whatever I want, the emotions I'm currently feeling, everything, without the fear of judgement weighing me down. I feel infinite, to quoteCharlie in Stephen Chboksy's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. As a result, my essays are passionate, full of what I consider my voice as a writer.
Faced with this question, however, "Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped define you as a person?" I am at a total loss. I do not know what experiences I should write about or the accomplishments that have defined me as a person. I have wrote and rewrote what feels like a hundred essays only to crumple them up and start again, a waste of time and paper. I have sat in the same chair, in the same spot for days, going down memory lane, and reevaluating myself in hopes of finding an experience, an accomplishment- anything!- that have made me who I am today. I was so desperate that I did not even care if that experience or accomplishment defined me; as long as I have something to write about, anything would do.
Seeing as this is the nth essay I'm writing, I have realized why I am suffering from this block. It is because, to simply put, I do not have experiences or accomplishments that defined me as a person, or if I do, I cannot remember them anymore. Sure, there might be experiences and accomplishments that stood out, but they never really made much of an impact. Experiences, as the famous saying goes, are the best teachers. To me, they were just fulfilling that role. Indeed, through them, I have gained and learned valuable lessons and insights that were essential in the growth of my character and being; it never happened that because of that particular experience or accomplishment, I was now known as this or that. For me, those experiences or accomplishments were not meant to define; they were meant to help.
To this day, an experience or accomplishment that defines me still has not happened. Am I worried? No. Should I be? I don't think so. In the book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, it says that there is a time for everything. Maybe now is not the right time for me to have that experience or accomplishment; maybe it would still take 5,10,50,100 years before that happens. However, I am not afraid because I know my time will come; I will wait. Until then, I treat everyday as if this was the experience I am waiting for; I treat my friends and family and all those who are dear to me as my greatest accomplishments in life. My daily mission: laugh longer, smile wider, pray harder, be friendlier, stand taller, and do better than what I did the day before.
--------------
Hi! This is my application essay for ateneo de manila university. Hopefully, I can get it. Constructive criticism is much appreciated :)
