Essays

Sitting here 3 hours before midnight I feel as if I want to cry. No, not for the reasons you think. Although I have piles of procrastinated Physics webassign, Econ studying, and essay writing, my eyes water by a different cause: my friends.

In language arts these days, we've all been reminded that the present is fleeting. That in a few months, we'll be sending off applications to some of the most intimidating and most prestige universities in the world. We've been pushed to write something interesting about ourselves and our experiences. We've rattled our brains and stared blankly at the white Word document hoping that in some miraculous instant, we'd turn into a wonderful and amazing person who has had so much life and so much love to write about. At least, that is what I thought we were going through.

I've gotten to read just two of my dearest friends' essays this past weekend. And both have brought tears to my eyes. You must be thinking that I am some kind of sappy weenie, and okay, I'll admit it. I am a bit emotional and over-sentimental. But. I realize that they didn't reach deep into themselves to find that interesting person because she was there near the surface all along.. for both of them. Stories about the strong bonds of love within families and between people and stories about the memories we've shared eating fried rice have all come up within their essays. Sometimes I wonder -- maybe this essay writing process isn't such a dirge. It is a final, concrete wrap up of the experiences we've had in high school and of the hopes and dreams that we have for our futures. Something to remember ourselves and our friends by in the future. I have to say that college essays seem to give us all a sense of closure for the childhood part of our lives. Thinking of it that way, there's no pressure to impress...

I am so thankful for such amazing friends who have opened themselves up in their essays and shared some of their beautiful experiences with me. I know they weren't writing it for my purpose (duh. how self-centered is that?) , but I still feel very honored to have been allowed to read some of their writing. I hope we all take these few months as an opportunity to show the world who we really are by seeing this essay writing process as a gift rather than a burden.

--Emily