The question is simple. Whilst applying to college, what was your essay/personal statement about?
I applied to four schools and IIRC, I used versions of the same story for all four essays. In high school, my friends and I decided to spend a Saturday in San Diego. Once there, we thought, why not go one step further and go to Tijuana, Mexico, which is just one town, and one international border crossing, over?
Welp, good times were had by all, until we returned to the U.S. border. Back then, I only had a green card. Because I had not planned on traveling abroad that morning, I left my green card at home, in Orange County. I figured that with my fluency in English, high school ID, and California driver’s license, La Migra would just wave me in with a smile and a nod. That did not happen. I ended up in a comfortable but frightening “holding cell” with a screamer for a couple of hours. My step-dad had to drive down with my green card to rescue me.
I don’t remember the thesis of my essay, but it went something like– I thought I was American, but I guess I’m not. It worked for three out of the four schools. I did not get into my top choice, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Had I gotten in, I would imagine that I would have resigned from the State Department this week for that Benghazi debacle. But I digress.
So, share with us your essay topic. Inquiring minds want to know! I want to know!
Hat tip to GloriousShoes for the inspiration for this post.
Image source: Flickr
