If you could rewrite your college essay, what would it say?

So few of us end up studying what we came into college dreaming of, or working in the industry in which we studied. If you had a chance to look back at the story you shared or the dream you revealed, do you think you could tell which direction you'd head? I wonder how many people would cringe at the words they put together when we were just 16. 

My college essay wasn’t profound, or enlightening – I had had (and still have) a relatively unscathed childhood. My parents are still happily married, I grew up in a small but privileged town and most of the time my desires were met.

I was a pretty determined teen, so naturally I stuck with the path I set out for myself at 16. I vaguely recall the opening sentence in my letter to recruiters being: “I want to be a writer.” At the time, I thought it was bold and forthcoming – a statement I thought would get the attention of the universities I wanted to attend.  What I probably meant to say was: “I don’t really know what I want to do, but I know that I’ve always had success in writing.” Today, it might be something like: “Move over, Anna Wintour.”

I’ve been thinking more and more about my college essay lately as it inevitably brought me to my university, my first job, my friends and my boyfriend. If you think about it, those 500 words were the ultimate compass – and at this stage in my life I can’t help but think “what if?”

As it so happens, I’m one of the unusual ones that has been tried-and-true in my move from college essay to college and career. It’s odd to think that today I’m still composing pieces, and still messing with the syntax and structure of paragraphs to find the perfect annotations. My life has introduced me to countless individuals who have inspired me, confused me, energized me and even belittled me – all introduced by the path I chose, and the essay I wrote. 

  

But if these college essays really determined where you went, how far you’d go and how you’d survive, what would you change? Would you have shared a family story rather than a dream? Would you have taken more than a Saturday afternoon to pen the piece that could determine your history?

Would you have chosen a different path?

{image via pinterest}