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Be Bold in Your College Essay

April 12, 2016 by Sara Nolan

Stage at operahouse

A bold kid on a mission to write When I was in fourth grade, I was obsessed with opera.  And I had a bold teacher, Mr. F, who was lanky and fierce in creativity and temper. He always smelled like coffee. Luckily, he also was obsessed with opera-- some of the same ones. And, like me, he liked to write. Mr. F, however, was a musician who had actually written and produced an opera. About the revolutionary war. For fourth graders to perform. In a public elementary school. I was 9.  I told Mr. F I wanted to write an opera.  And what did he say?  Go for it; I'll help you. This encouragement is what each of us needs to be equally bold. Someone saying, Got dreams?  Got something to say? Go for it; I'll help you.  What did I know then about ambition? I wore paisley print stretch pants, velour shirts, and Velcro sneakers, to give you an idea.  I was still eating pita-and-peanut-butter-and-honey for lunch every day, and throwing my invariably mealy apple in the over-sized cafeteria trash can (and why was it over-sized? Guess!). But even with no feel yet for literary structure, never having written lyrics, I still thought I could write an opera.  And I started right away on my dad's long yellow legal pads.  What I wrote strangely resembled my favorite opera in character, in plot and....I had no idea how one would compose song. Do you get it? I could do none of the things required to actually write an opera, but I still THOUGHT I COULD DO IT. As soon as I was supported, I got started. I was bold. Self-doubt was not even in my vocabulary. I think the opera is somewhere in my parent's basement now.  I don't need to see it because I'm embarrassingly confident how bad it is. But I'm so proud of that kid. In your college essay, be like a ballsy fourth grader.. Here's the deal: your work is only as bold as you're willing to be. And sometimes we need a hand at our back, a voice in our ear saying, Go For It. Sometimes we need to switch our seat at the  Continue Reading …

Filed Under: Destiny, Stories, Teachers, Uncategorized, Wisdom Tagged With: "Imagine", anecdote, bold, college essay, Creativity, encouragement, Essay Writing, get started, personal story, PS22 Chorus, teacher, where to start

6 Life Lessons You Can Learn From Your Smartphone

September 20, 2013 by Sara Nolan

Admit it: you think your smartphone is awesome.  Maybe you’re even a little intimidated by it, or have a small crush on it--two ways we often feel about our best teachers.  You may feel a sense of deflation when obliged to shut it off or stow it away.  Continue Reading …

Filed Under: State of Mind, Teachers, Writing Tips Tagged With: body, connection, mind, recharge, smartphone, teacher

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