I broke my pinky toe this week. What I stubbed it on should have been obvious. I mean, a plastic tub of legos, taking up half the hallway? That my three year-old left there, during his righteous fit? What's more obvious? That's why I don't have a good story to tell you, which is annoying. Pay Attention--starting with the obvious! But my attention was elsewhere. It was past 9PM, and I was on my own righteous mission: to get my older kids to clean up after themselves in the kitchen while the baby meowed from the bedroom. (The three year old harumph-ed along beside me to chide his big brothers.) The minute I felt my toe make contact, I knew I had broken it. Your brain gains a momentary crater where it used to sense a comfortably in-tact body part. In my intero-ception, the damage was obvious. WHAT HAPPENED?, the three year old alarmist said, when he heard my expletives reserved for those choice toe moments. I BROKE MY TOE ON YOUR LEGOS! I half-yelled, because the obvious works better in ALL CAPS. The thing is, when you stub or break your toe, it's almost always on something that's right in front of your face, and could have been avoided. It's not like the walls switch around their location to mess with you and bait your appendages (except in Alice in Wonderland. Or when you're chronically exhausted). Look at the story you're telling yourself... From the site of injury, I started building a story-- sound familiar? "Tomorrow is going to suck...so is the next day...Why did I not put that away?" I also thought: dang, this would be a lot more acceptable if I had a good story to tell. Then I realized, a good story can start with the obvious, it just can't stop there. Moving beyond what's obvious What if I looked more closely at why we don't do what we know we should? Or examined the structure of the foot, the function of toes? What if I wrote about the evolution of emotion, studied my three-year old? The fits he has over things the Continue Reading …
attention
Paying Attention (to Freewriting)
If you've been paying attention, you know we think free-writing is THE way to start your college essay. But unexpectedly I came across some sage advice on how NOT to begin your essay, which I'll pass onto you. (Don't fret-- it leads right back to free-writing.) Being Bored, Lazy, Trivial and Proud: that's how not to write your college essay. Paying attention? Got that? Need a sharper voice to tell you so? Sit up and listen to these words from poet Frank O'Hara. Or better: read them out loud. Don’t be bored, don’t be lazy, don’t be trivial, and don’t be proud. The slightest loss of attention leads to death. — Frank O’Hara, 1964 Did he say death? He said death! To avoid such certain death, here are some free-writing exercises to set your observer free. Your medicine is...Your attention! And what simple steps must you take? Pay it! (Don't worry: your doctor would approve.) (And the admissions committee would definitely approve, because they are SO bored of being bored!) Your inner observer can do the work There is nothing better you can do for your college essay success (or your writing voice, period) than to liberate your honest inner observer. Who's that? Glad you asked. It's the little voice inside you that knows--or could know-- what you're really like. Where you shine, where you falter, where you are (join the club, membership free) unmistakably human. Let's look at this quote again, then complete all or some of the prompts below. Don’t be bored, don’t be lazy, don’t be trivial, and don’t be proud. The slightest loss of attention leads to death. — Frank O’Hara, 1964 Free-Writing Prompts: Reflect on something from your life that makes you: 1) bored, 2) lazy, 3) trivial and 4) proud. (One example for each, please, and using as much detail as possible) Reflect on something that makes you sit up and pay attention. Voluntarily (say, Simone Biles) or involuntarily (say, gunshots). Speculate: how could you cross the Continue Reading …
First line, first impression
Your first sentence of your essay decides if you have a future... That is, if your college essay has a future in the eyes of your reader. There, got your attention. See? First impressions matter. Your college essay is no exception. And your first line of your personal statement is your first impression, so here's how to make it good and have the adcom begging (well, maybe not begging, but ready) for more. Consider Context You wouldn't go for a job interview with tomato sauce rubbed across your face, go on a first date in a stained shirt, show up for the first day of school with a busted notebook from last year. Don't start your essay without thoughtful craft-- you want it to entice. In fact, make that first line work for you so you have the best chance at getting the prize-- that is, the adcom's attention. Figure out the techniques Here's Stanford University's sample first lines from admitted students. If you take a few minutes to study each first line, you'll see that A) there is a range of winners and B) there is no formula and C) each line has a reason it's successful. We'll look at a few different ones to give you a primer on why they work. First Lines of college essays we love "I change my name each time I place an order at Starbucks." First, clever, and why not, do you have an obligation to be you? Second, the reader is given a fact, but no explanation for it: perhaps the writer likes the freedom to swap out identities in low-stakes situation; perhaps the applicant hates his or her first name; perhaps something traumatizing happened with a Starbucks employee -- point is, we have just enough information to be intrigued, but not enough to be satisfied. Simple sentence, but big opening. "When I was in eighth grade I couldn't read." Again, simple fact, but begs the biggest question: Why? (Especially, perhaps, because we know this student was submitted to Stanford at least partially on the strength of the essay). "On a hot Hollywood evening, Continue Reading …