“How in the world do I end this?” It's a common question from college-essay writers, and it emerges right when they reach for reflection. But not knowing your ending isn’t a liability. In fact, this state of not knowing can be exactly where you want to be.
When it comes to personal essays, even a good outline isn't a turn-by-turn map. Instead, offshoots and byways, unseen at the start, always crop up. Working with my Creative Mentoring student reminded me just how much wayfinding happens along the way.
I once helped a college applicant who wrote beautifully about a terrible place to swim. It was a stretch of bay marked by strong currents, stinging sea lice, and a pungent smell when the tide stole the water altogether.
The fall of my senior year, I spent a very long time not writing my Big College Essay. It was a project I was already supposed to know how to do — two pages with just one job: to capture, in entirety, who I was.
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