9.22 My Ordinary is Your Exotic

Are you still thinking you should write your college application essays about the two weeks you spent halfway around the world? Really? But what would that tell us about you?Right behind me in today's video is St. Patrick's Cathedral, on Fifth Avenue in New York. It's right across from Rockefeller Center. When I was in high school, I worked in a building next door: the aptly-named, "Best & Company." It was my after-school job. I would get out at the subway station, right here. What do you think went through my mind as I emerged, blinking, from the depths of Rockefeller Center?"Wow, this is one of the most amazing places on earth!"Of course not. I thought, "I'm late to work.".

Click on the image or on this link to access the video: https://youtu.be/GeiObNfUgy4

Athena Advises

My advice to you--and to myself--is: Open your eyes. The absolutely everyday stuff you take for granted might just be fascinating to somebody else. It's likely to tell us much more about you than an essay about someplace you'll never see again!Ask yourself what your world would look like to someone who has never been you. What would you seem like to someone who has never been you? In the words of a prompt set by Tufts University, "Describe the environment in which you were raised – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – and how it influenced the person you are today."The secret here is that they're not really asking about the environment. They're asking about you.I could tell you stories of my after-school job that would make it sound like the most boring thing ever. Instead, I have for decades regaled friends with stories about my training in calming down the carriage trade; or the mailroom antics of my colleagues from St. Joseph's Secretarial.So don't be discouraged if you think your life is ordinary. It's not about your surroundings. It's about the amazing, exotic and wonderful heart of you.Dr. Marlena CorcoranFounder and CEOAuthor of Year by Year to College, on amazon.com, amazon.de and many national amazon sites