The Stressful Process of College Essays

        There comes a day if every high school student's life when they have to conquer the stressful process of writing that essay that makes or breaks your chances of getting into college. My whole life I had always wanted to be a UCF Knight, so I knew that I would do anything in my power to be just that. I had always been told "write a great essay and your golden."
         I sat down on my comfy, queen-size bed with my little white Macbook on my lap, ready to write my life story in 500 words. The prompt had been to write about an obstacle in your life that hindered your learning experience, I knew exactly what to write about, my stepdads death. I already knew how I would go about writing the essay, just be myself and let my emotions fill the empty word document. But, my writing habits got in the way of me doing just that. I had thought the process would be so easy, but when I had though back at my past 12 years of english lessons I couldn't find myself getting past the first sentence of my paper, I kept thinking, what if this sentence doesn't hook the reader in? After more thought and more planning I finally just ignored all the rigid writing rules I was taught and let everything out. I swear I was typing a mile a minute.
          After I finally finished and submitted my essay I waited a few longs months and received my acceptance letter. I had never been so proud, my hard work paid off. I think my writing was so effective because I made it relatable and personal. I opened up and spoke as me, a voice that wasn't phony or too pretentious. I made it clear that I truly believed I belong at the University of Central Florida and that I have worked so hard my past four years of high school to prove that.