A Life of Wonder

Do you remember your college essay topic? The process of discovering the topic, creating a unique point of view, and bringing it to life taught me more about writing and storytelling than any class I’ve taken. 

I wrote the first draft of my essay quickly. I drove across the bridge to share it with my friend’s mother. She was a writer and a psychologist. She interrogated every word and ultimately rewrote it. She took my life story and replaced it with a psychological profile. It was perfectly crafted, yet lacked all personality and soul. 

I decided to rewrite it as I drove back over the bridge to my home. It was late December, snowy, and midnight. No one was home at my house. About 1 mile away from home, I car crashed into a boulder that night. 

I walked home. Exhausted and motivated, I rewrote the essay before the sun came up. The essay I wrote became a way for me to understand not just my interest in college, but also how I made sense of life—of all the many times I’ve moved, my passion for theater, literature, and business, and the abundance of energy that illuminated everything I did.

Since then, I’ve enjoyed helping young people with their essays. Not as a job, but as a hobby–and as a gift that I can give to help people find what they want to communicate about their authentic selves. I’ve given the gift about 30 times.

I wish there were more college essay moments in adulthood: moments that inspire self-reflection and thoughtful communication where something big is on the line. I think back to that night often and the process of writing, rewriting, fighting exhaustion, and emerging with the words, my words, that helped me and others understand what I wanted to say. Honestly, I’m ready to do it again.