My College Essays

Whenever I look back at my childhood, I realize that I was addicted to writing. While other students were focused on drawing or playing house on the playground equipment, I was attentive to creating stories. The first book I ever wrote still resides in my closet in a dense folder. It was a short comic about alternate storylines for Sonic the Hedgehog. I used stacks of thick, colored paper and a pen to create my book. I intricately designed each box that contained sentences of dialogue, and I was so obsessed that I turned it into a full-length series.

When comics were no longer my style, I switched to writing in dense paragraphs that encapsulated my creativity. I wrote wherever and whenever I could, whether that was on my mom’s laptop or handwriting my stories on notebook paper during school.

Despite my efforts to keep my dream of becoming an author, there was one moment in my childhood that pivoted my motivation to write. It was the Fall of 2020, during the pandemic, when I came across a club called the “Power of The Pen,” which was an extracurricular that promoted “creative” writing. I was in seventh grade during that time, and I wanted to put my writing to good use. Back then, I was a fantastic reader and writer, but my English class was lackluster from the Argumentative essays and a strict rubric system. So, bringing my creative writing into school through a club that encouraged creativity piqued my interest.

I logged onto my Chromebook and started to write my placement story. I remember the passion I felt, believing I would get into the club. I typed furiously on that document, placing intricate details onto every sentence; by the time I was finished, I was convinced that my love for storytelling would get me into the club.

The next week, I waited, certain my name would be called. However, when the last name was announced and the mic cut off, I realized I wasn’t chosen. Confused, I asked why– and the club advisor pulled out a rubric that stripped the creative direction of my short story. This reshaped my perception of my writing. Each word was now written with insecurity, a hesitation that never fully went away. My bold voice became hesitant and storytelling was replaced by structure.

I realize that the quantification of my creativity is the sole reason why I experienced an intermittent burnout. I’m not alone in this issue. Sreesha Ghosh, author ofWhy I Can’t Read Anymore, says “I remember a question on my Columbia application asking me to list out all the books I had read leisurely over the last year—and hesitating because I was worried I wouldn’t appear ‘smart’ or ‘scholarly’ enough.” Undoubtedly, she wasn’t acting genuine because of the pressure to fit into the standard of reading books appropriate for her level of schooling. This pertains to me as a writer because I had to change my voice to fit the style of a school assignment in order to get a higher grade or be recognized as a ‘sophisticated writer,’ like I was expected to be at the “Power of The Pen.”

The issue is that rubrics exist in any aspect of life. In fact, Art Markman says that faculty “have a set of standards that enable us to decide which elements of an assignment or assessment provide crucial evidence of the learning outcomes we care about so that we can provide students with clear feedback about how their learning is progressing.” While rubrics are necessary and have been useful to provide constructive criticism, teachers create rubrics that “are often biased toward a subset of the key learning outcomes for a class” (Markman). This is an issue because it weakens the personal voice of a writer. When a rubric makes it mandatory to include learning outcomes, it strays away from the main idea that the writer may have tried to implement and strips the aspect of creativity for the project.

While I don’t create books on colorful pieces of paper anymore, I’ve become motivated to refine my voice without stripping away my creativity. By taking this class, my goal is to incorporate my voice into an essay to impact my audience, as well as the desire to reflect on my creativity and broaden my formula of writing. I’m particularly excited to gather constructive feedback through peer editing and help others to find their voice.

-----

Grade:94%