Why We Write Essays

Rewind nine years ago, the morning of September 11, 2001 was like any other morning in the city of New York. People were going to work or already hard at work. When all of a sudden, two planes crashed into the Twin Towers. More than three thousand people lost their lives that day. This one day brought a whole nation together. United as one body. But look at the typical American today, especially around this time of year. What are people thinking about? Which presents to buy? How much is that? Or what can I do to make a few extra dollars to fund all of this “Christmas” expense? With these questions racing through the minds of hundreds of millions of people across the United States, not to mention the other billions of people thinking that across the globe, it’s a wonder anybody realizes anything on a deeper level. What happened to that America, nine years ago? Have our minds really forgotten all that has occurred and is still happening in people’s hearts?

As I prepare to go off to college, many of the admissions and applications have made me take a step back and review my life and what I have done with it. I see a young man that has risen up from the ashes of a childhood speech impediment to become the chief junior marshal of his junior class. I see a young adult ready to take on any challenge that he is faced with. I see a devoted young man on his knees more often then he wants to admit. Many of these things, I do not normally think about because being a teenager in this day and age is a full time job in-of-itself. With school, athletics, clubs/organizations, a part-time job, and volunteer services, many teenagers are so busy that they do not have any time to slow down and relax or just reflect on life itself. Maybe this is why colleges and universities require you to reflect in essays or brief statements about yourself. Maybe they want us to relax and reflect about the bigger picture instead of about the essay taking time away from our other activities. Just...