As a sophomore, college isn’t supposed to be spotlighted but ever since high school started, it’s lingered in the back of my mind filling me with both passion and anxiety as I’ve racked up as many activities and service hours as I could, all in the name of my future college applications.
Only, it isn’t simply about how many As you get or how many clubs you join. It’s about you. But is it?
In eighth grade, everyone had to write a practice college essay modeled after the applications hundreds of students submit to UCs every year.
As I was writing it, noting my accomplishments, talking about my greatest skill, I kept thinking: is this enough? Instead of academics, I thought about what stories I could tell that would not only strike a chord with admissions officers but garner enough sympathy that maybe they would consider letting me into their school.
Time and time again, I’ve heard my friends joke about what they’ll write about in their essay or how they may not have a big enough “tragedy” to get them into college.
Why is that the norm? Why is the exploitation of personal trauma not only rewarding but expected?
The personal essay—the thing that stands between you and the future you have strived for throughout high school—is thought of as the time to show who you really are in a way that a transcript can’t.
Amongst my senior friends who’ve spent hours filling out applications, I’ve noticed one thing: nothing is as impactful and college-worthy as whatever emotional trauma they can write about.
Instead of reflecting on their countless accomplishments, I’ve watched friends search every crevice of their mind for something to spark enough sympathy, emotion, or pain from an admissions officer to get them into college.
I’m not saying essays that share traumatic experiences are inherently evil. However, there is a danger that it now seems to be the expectation that, to get into a good school and achieve your dream, you have to dig deep into a place you may not want to revisit or that may not define you.
Everyone has a story to tell, and a college application is one of the first places youths get to tell their own. They should be entitled to showcase whatever part of their story they want to–however traumatic or untraumatic it may be.
Children spend their childhood being told to persevere and “get over it”, then suddenly they’re supposed to bear their soul. This society that only prioritizes vulnerability when it offers a reward, never when it puts others in a position of discomfort is unfair.
When I apply to college, I’m sure I will “dig deep,” as every English teacher will tell me. But I’ll remember that no one’s entitled to anyone’s pain–even if it gets you into college.
