It is that time for all Juniors in High School as the year comes to a close. The dreaded college Essay. The essay that all of the colleges they apply to will read over and over again. The student is hoping that the “Writing Hook,” that they utilize will draw the reader in. The reader being the college admissions board for the region that the student lives in. The “Hook” that the writer hopes will put their application into the “accepted for admissions” students pile.
It’s truly a lot for the students to have to dig deep and really explore themselves to put the words to paper. In my own life my High School student will be starting her Senior Year and she is currently in that Self-reflective stage where she has to look inside herself to create an essay about who she truly is. This is just part of the endless pressure that High School students go through to get accepted to the college of their choice.
This really got me thinking watching this pain staking process of creating a college essay. I believe it’s really important for each individual to look retrospectively inside themselves. This is really what these kids are doing. The reality is that it isn’t exclusive to High School students. I believe that writing should be incorporated into all of our daily lives. If writing on a computer or phone isn’t your comfort zone then maybe utilize your voice memos. That means that there truly isn’t a valid excuse for you not to use this form of self-expression. Writing has always been used as a therapeutic tool forever better known as Journaling. Journaling can be very intimidating to some and immediately put a mental block up to this prospect of self-expression. What if we wrote or voice messaged an essay just like a college essay in 500 words or less?
I know it’s not an easy task to look deep within ourselves. I witnessed the process through my kids as they penned their college essays. The reality is if it was easy colleges wouldn’t want them. Taking the time and effort to portray who you are in an essay can be very challenging. Essay writing or voice messaging is a form of therapy. Really, when do we sit down and actually describe ourselves? We have professional descriptions of our skills and expertise but when do we ever sit and write words that gives the reader a good picture of who we are? I acknowledge that this could open up old wounds. Professionally, if you are going to write about a trauma, PTSD or depression it should be done under the supervision of a Therapist. The raw and unexpected emotions may take you by surprise and it is important to have a support system with you to process the emotions.
Scientifically, it has been researched that writing can affect our brains. According to Joshua Smyth PhD, writing about emotions and stress can improve your immune system. This can help the healing process within our bodies. Wow, so now we have taken the task of writing about ourselves to an actual physical and chemical reaction in our bodies. I hope that I am starting to motivate you to want to write your “Essay Hook.”
In Episode 75 of my podcast Wide Open Spaces with Ilise I am going to share my Essay with you about myself. I am going to write it as if I was writing a College Essay with my Hook and all. The podcast will also help you along the way to utilize this therapeutic skill in your daily lives. Helping ourselves isn’t easy and it does take a lot of personal effort. Journaling has been a traditional tool in therapy but has writing about yourself in the form of a College Essay?
Join me at Wide Open Space with Ilise and we will go on this Journey together to help each of us identify and understand ourselves better. Life is ever changing and evolving and to maintain a healthy emotional state it takes personal work. Pop in your earbuds and let’s take this Journey together. Every step you take forward is a step in healing, productivity, self-worth and positivity. Therapeutic Journeys can be hard but in the end you are putting the power in your own hands to live a healthier lifestyle.
POSITIVE THOUGHTS ALWAYS CREATE POSITIVE ENERGY
GO OUT AND EXPLORE ALL OF THE WIDE OPEN SPACES IN YOUR WORLD
CIAO
Ilise
