I closed my eyes. I prayed that when I opened them, I would see someone else in the mirror. I took a peek and sighed. It was still me. I was only eight, and that morning, one of the boys at my Christian school asked me, “Did an eighteen wheeler flatten your face?” He and his friends mockingly squinted their eyes and snickered. I had always wondered why my parents moved to Alabama of all the wonderful, diverse places in...

I closed my eyes. I prayed that when I opened them, I would see someone else in the mirror. I took a peek and sighed. It was still me. I was only eight, and that morning, one of the boys at my Christian school asked me, “Did an eighteen wheeler flatten your face?” He and his friends mockingly squinted their eyes and snickered. I had always wondered why my parents moved to Alabama of all the wonderful, diverse places in...

Be yourself! Write about what you love.

After I was deferred to Regular Decision (I...

The college essay can both bring eye-opening self-reflection and a massive headache. Last year, I spent a good two or three months trying to think of things to say about myself… and half of the time was spent sitting in front of my blank computer screen. I may have spent more time thinking about what to write than actually writing, but one thing's for sure - my college essays took up countless hours of pondering about my life and numerous late nights of typing away furiously. I may have aged ten years during the process, but looking back, it was...