Blog 2.4 - College Essays [Izzah] Gr12

College Essays

For the two first classes after coming back from Christmas break, Ms. Disa was absent, she left us with some videos to work on and activities. I was a little nervous, afraid I was going to have to write a full college essay right upon coming back after a long break. However, I was surprised to find out that these activities handed to us weren't tedious, but instead helped us discover ourselves further. Activities exploring what we liked, our interests, things we value, and our opinions on ourselves. Despite how easy it sounds, I feel it requires a lot of thinking. Thinking about ourselves is hard actually, putting everything we like into words. Finding out what really matters, what is really important. Is difficult. Perhaps it's because we tend to become something we are not, we have expectations for ourselves, often manifesting, or labeling us as something we strive to become but not actually what or who we are now. When Ms. Disa came back from vacation, we started off by analyzing an anonymous college essay, we focused on two papers, the draft, as well as the improved, revised version. The first paper seemed dull, a generic answer, and cliche, however when reading the revised version, we can see how the person has added more details and specific reasons why she applied for this medical course. Although there is still a lot of place for improvement, it added a lot of interest to the paper. Finally, we worked on an activity together, the essence box activity, which was basically where we read a few questions and then associate one object with the answer. It was really nostalgic, all the items from my past, it was as if I reliving my life, everything that's ever happened. I felt really grateful for everything. Thanks, Ms.Disa! That really made me rethink some things.