Here are my tips to you in writing your Personal Statement the following:
Don’t belittle your experiences. If they are important to you, they are important for a reason. In the right light and correct angle, you can demonstrate how important they can be to others too.
Write a story about YOU. It does not have to be out of the ordinary to be extraordinary. All I could remember from my middle to high school years was mostly in the church. I used to feel that my mundane routine of being involved in church was nothing exciting to write about. That could not further from the truth: my shiniest gems come from the simplest memories. You being alive is already extraordinary. So let yourself SHINE!
Be honest. There is a difference between reframing experiences to speak better to the audience and telling baldfaced lies about experiences you wish you had. You are enough. Your story is enough.
Discovering my story through the writing process
It took me time to learn these lessons—lessons I have to remind myself to keep close to my heart every today. It takes hard work to transform one’s knowledge into wisdom which is the application of knowledge. Be patient with your process and the writing will come. This a piece of how it came together for me when I applied to UCLA in 2013:
Prompt #1: Describe the world you come from —for example, your family, community, or school —and tell us how your world shaped your dreams and aspirations.
This was the the first of two UC Personal Statement Prompts—that is, before they changed them into 4 Personal Insight Questions. I was determined to write something outstanding, racking every recess of my brain for the fantastic diamond about the world I came from—quiet, suburban Temecula California. But what was great about my community? It was a small town. Students either did sports, drugs, or went attended church.
I found myself in the latter— a community of devote attendees with a trite regiment of going to Youth Group every Thursday night, bible study every Friday, and church services every Sunday. I felt that all I did church while balancing the school workload to get me into the college of my dreams.
“Nothing was exciting about that”, I thought. Stumped, I resigned myself to the idea that I was not that special. Sure I felt like a pretty big fish in Temecula, but reading the book 50 Successful Ivy League Essays plagued me with torrential imposter syndrome. Nothing extraordinary about a little asian kid going to a small church and doing his homework in between.
I spent hours ideating, digging into my treasure box of memories, but everything I recollected seemed dull in comparison. I resigned myself to thinking I was not special—my life was just church and studying. I felt weak, small, insignificant. I beat myself up mentally, casting each memory aside like spare change, instead of treating it like sacred treasure. It did not matter how many hours I spent slaving on my essays. What I wrote would not shine.
Moving fast by slowing down
I realized that my approach was not working. In a stressed mindset I could not get any writing juices flowing. I had the classic case of writer’s block (coupled by mild anxiety). Instead of leaning more into my manic anxiety, I learned to slow down, and breathe. It took a lot of self-reflection and a little help to get out of that funk. It took me talking with my parents, close friends, and community members, who reminded me of who I was and the cool things I did. They helped me take the coins from my personal collection of memories, shake off the dust, rub it on my shirt, and hold it up to the light to see how shiny my treasure box really was.
The ordinary is extraordinary
Through the reflection, I realized that ordinary life was (is and always will be) truly extraordinary. That being alive in and of itself is a treasure trove of bright and beautiful moments of joy— that is if you let it. Being alive itself is an extraordinary gift and everything done out of that life is that much more extraordinary. The pleasure is not found in seeking the extraordinary but by being present in the ordinary and relishing every moment of breath. At just the right angle and an open frame of mind, you can catch the bright light of life reflecting from your memories.
It was with that frame that I wrote my UC app, Simple Spanish, a story about how I found the joy in service of others—something I still value to this day.
So, while you write your Personal Statement, don’t force it. Take a deep breathe, relax, and let your best experiences come to you, whether they are out-of-the-ordinary, or extra-ordinary. Once you apply and it turns out you don’t get the result you want, do not worry. As a famous drag queen once said, “It will all work out in the end. And if it has not worked out, then it is not the end.” Write on!
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