Non-stop exploratory free-writing for your best college essay material You know something good is happening in a college admissions essay-writing workshop when 29 teenage boys have their hands tight to the paper, free-writing with a fervor usually reserved for Mortal Kombat. (They may not know writing actually is a form of Mortal Kombat!) This is exactly what went down last weekend at JP Morgan Chase The Fellowship Initiative, where I was lucky enough to share free-writing exercises for my newest cohort of students. These fellows are selected for the Fellowship based on the strength of their dreams and the qualities of their character to help change the professional landscape for young men of color. What better way to amplify this mission, this visibility, than with their words? We started like I always start: with the freedom and exploration of free-writing. I'm sharing the free-writing prompts to help you dig for your college essay material. If you haven't done this before, first read the rules below, then respond to the writing prompts that follow. What you write just might lead you to a rich, authentic topic for your application essay. Note! These are just two of the prompts we used at the workshop. We have many, many, many more upon request. Parents and teachers-- you can try these exercises too. Rules for free-writing: Write automatically and non-stop for a set period of time. Set a timer. Follow wherever your mind goes without censoring or policing and write it all down, even if it seems unrelated, random or unexpected. Do like you would on the ball court and don’t stop moving (your hand on the page). Only reread or make changes once you are done (when the timer goes off!). Free-writing Prompt 1 (3-4 min) "I am an invisible man...I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." ---Ralph Continue Reading …