Being in the trenches over the last month or so of the college admissions process and more specifically, the writing portion of the application process–a process I have experienced again and again without tiring (this is my 18th season working with students on the writing of the autobiographical college essay), playing the role of editor to teenagers, as they struggle trying to find their voice–many for the first time–in order to share with others their life story to date–a story that is seldom easy to share either with friends or strangers and never one that is easy to draft, edit, and eventually publish is a role that I take seriously and with great humility.
Essays that are part of the college admissions process are designed to probe, question, and push students to reflect, struggle and examine their life to date, in the search for meaning, and then, if that was not enough, share the struggle associated with this kind of writing with people they do not intimately know, all the while desperately wanting to be accepted as part of their university community. This titanic struggle is subsequently subsumed by an all consuming life that includes: rigorous academic classes, endless needs of family and friends, extra-curricular activities that abound, and when possible, a little sleep. Finally, the pressure to produce this difficult writing from family, friends and teachers can be almost unbearable at times, tragically leading many to either short cut, or sabotage the writing process, and thus the opportunity to share their story–a cathartic process for many–or in the worst case, abandon the college admissions process altogether. It is usually within this backdrop that I am asked to engage students, full of emotion and burdened by stress, to play the role of editor, who is, by definition, responsible for challenging every aspect of the writer’s draft–a role analogous to that of disturbing a hive of bees while being allergic to bee stings. Finally, this dance between writer and editor takes place at all hours of the day and night, and as we get closer to the deadline, I find myself working with one student after another without stop for weeks at a time–a role that most of you would suggest is tantamount to some sort of self-inflicted torture, though in working with these students (who have become my teachers) over the past, nearly two decades, has allowed me the opportunity to become a better writer and more importantly a better person.
To write better, one should surround themselves with writers. Always having a love-hate relationship with writing, being a part of the previously defined auto-biographcal writing process over the past twenty years has allowed me to improve incrementally, my own writing, allowing me to become a better communicator of the thoughts that rise and fall out of my own mind-stream. Working with others as they toil in the writing process–a brutal process that can be unforgiving to those that choose not to adhere to its time honored rules and processes–has led me to appreciate and accept my own struggle, when engaging the writing craft. I have seen the pain and stress, watching others find the words to define the experiences that have shaped their lives in less than 500 words, to now know that writing is not something that is only a struggle for me. Anyone who has written, and is honest with themselves, knows that expressing yourself in written form is gut- wrenching, to say the least. Through realizing the difficultly involved in being a writer, both in my own writing and by working with writers of all shapes and sizes, has led me to develop patience and compassion, while being instructed on the craft.
I have evolved into a editor become more objective in working with others to shape their writing and bring out the truer meaning of their reflective efforts. Becoming more confident–gained through editing thousands of drafts of essays–in the beauty of collaboration constrained by the objective writing process, has allowed me to be less prideful; a pride that was always used to cover up, my own perceived inadequacies surrounding my writing. Being more experienced, and thus confident as well as more humble, leads me to be more tolerant of the writer’s, at times, excessive emotions, while engaged in the crafting of nothing less than their life story to date. Having compassion, as an editor, for, what is in effect, the grieving process associated with growing up and realizing life is not the fairy tale we were sold as children, has allowed me to mature as a human being and thus, become more helpful in all that I do.
So, enough rambling on about writing, because school is adjourned and we are only a few days away from the un-moveable admissions deadline that is the University of California. The staion house alarm has sounded, and it is time to do battle with the demons that define the process of sharing one’s life experience in a writing collaboration that leaves everything on the floor, allowing us to feel both exhausted and refreshed, ready to move confidently into the next chapter of our lives. Long live the college admissions’ essay prompts, and congrats to this year’s veterans! May your story grow into that of legend, which can be shared with your grandchildren one day.
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At Creative Marbles we love to play the role of editor for today’s writers, as well as teach the writing process to those that are willing, and those who may be struggling to further develop their own inherent writing talent. For more information about our whole array of educational consulting services see our services tab at the top of this blog.
Photograph: Tetra Images/Corbis
