The worst thing you can do for your personal story is deaden it with cliches. Cliches make your reader's mind go numb. Use them too much (playing it safe?) and Admissions officers have forgotten you before they are even done reading your college essay. Even the most intense, riveting tale can lose all of its power if you tell it just like everyone has told it before you. "I couldn't believe my eyes. As she took her last breath I begged her not to go." This sort of thing. How tragic would that be? You have a powerful story to tell-- but it's so predictable that no one cares. Now, look: in human life, death is predictable. Suffering is predictable. Some mishap, some humor, transitions-- all are predictable. But that doesn't have anything to do with cliche, or how you choose to tell your reader about what happened. It's all about what details you include, where you put the focus, and what fresh images or stark descriptions you weave in. Continue Reading …