​As unfashionable and unprogressive as it may be in this day and age to say that I love to cook, I would be doing myself a disservice to deny something so fundamental. My dad taught me how to cook while I was still in elementary school, and I was instantly hooked. Cooking has never been merely the preparation of food to me - creating something and feeding others is a way for me to express emotions I could never put...

Try to be sincere without being bland. Get as many people as possible to read over your essays and take all of their feedback into account. However, remember that the essays must be in your voice, so you have the final say on phrasing, topic, and inclusion of detail. Never be afraid to reuse snippets of other essays if they fit; not only do you save time, but you also get to hone those excerpts to perfection in every context....

I realized that debt was not worth a slightly better brand,...