While teaching, I was also writing and publishing essays and humor in publications such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Real Simple, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Immersed in so much teaching, reading, and writing, it felt natural to start helping one, then two, then eventually many more high school students work through what they wanted to say in their college applications. 

I quickly realized that the whole process is about much more than writing. It’s about thinking. It’s about getting to know teenagers well enough to help them honestly reflect on their backgrounds, values, interests, and goals. Over the years, I’ve learned to ask the kinds of questions that help students generate ideas and I’ve developed targeted brainstorming activities that open creative avenues into personal stories.

Now as I guide students through the many disparate components of the application and writing process, I find so much joy in helping them land on a clearer sense of who they are through wrestling with the stories they want to tell. The whole thing — it’s a major project. Rarely is it easy for anyone, but the rewards can be big: increased self-knowledge and the pride that comes from writing essays that are well-crafted, memorable, personal, and true.