Begging for advice! Difficulty with reflective essays.

Applying to College
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<p>This week, I realized that I am utterly unable to write reflective essays, so I am here to beg for advice/help. x.x;</p>

<p>It's really frustrating, because by just about any other measure I'm an excellent writer. I did well in the John Hopkins distance writing program (although sadly my computer crashed and I lost all the great advice I recieved from the tutors. >_<). I got two 780s on the SAT writing and critical reading section without even studying, and I've always been the top student in my english classes. In my current AP class, I get great scores on my AP prompt essays and analytical/character essays. I can write poetry, short fiction, book responses ... but yet I am unable to write about myself! </p>

<p>We've started a unit on reflective essays in AP English, and I recieved a C on my first essay, which is a disturbing change from the A's I'm used to getting. What it comes down to is I have no idea how to write about myself. I can write anything about OTHER people, OTHER situations, but when it's a question like "describe your physical/emotional baggage and how it hinders you", I freeze. My writing ability, any eloquence, style, or creativity ... it vanishes, and my esssay sounds incredibly stilted and shallow. </p>

<p>It's not that I'm a boring person. There are plenty of interesting things I could write about, but I just can't seem to do it! I don't know if I'm overly shy about sharing myself with the world or what, but the same goes for writing about personal experiences. My sentences end up sounding elementary and unvaried. Writing usually comes fluidly and naturally, but when it's an essay about ME, I completely freeze. have to get over this block soon, and learn how to write a reflective essay, because I have 3 due in the next week. </p>

<p>Worst of all, reflective essays are super important for college applications, and yet they seem to be the only type of writing I am incapable of completing at a high level.</p>

<p>My AP English teacher has been absolutely no help whatsoever; her philosophy is that writing "cannot be taught", and that I have to figure out how to write reflective essays "on my own."</p>

<p>So, does anyone have any advice for me? How do you approach reflective essays? Do you outline first? Any special hints or tips? What steps do you take in writing them? I feel demoralized, desperate, and depressed. >_<</p>

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<p>If it makes you feel any better, I always got Cs (except for one) on my essays during my freshman English Honors class. Unfortunately, I had the hardest teacher in the English department at my school. Surprisingly, freshman year was my hardest year for English.</p>

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<p>Bouncechrissy - when you are writing those essays, PRETEND that you are somebody else or that you are writing about somebody else. Either role-play (pretend you are famous and the writing is being done by your biographer or your psychiatrist or a journalist) -- or invent a character who is like you and write about her. It is also o.k. for your English assignment if you really do write a somewhat fictional account, even if you present it as self-reflective - because basically, you have a right to privacy and your English teacher doesn't have any right to know your innermost thoughts. So if you want to write about a fictionalized counterpart who is shyer or worldlier or perhaps, more introspective -- go right ahead. (Just don't get carried away and write about a fictionalized counterpart who enjoys playing with explosives.)</p>

<p>When it comes to writing college essays, you will need to be honest -- unless you are assigned to write page 352 of your autobiography, in which case you will have free license to let fantasy take over. But there is no law saying that essay has to be self-reflective in tone. If its hard for you to write about feelings, you can relate an experience and let the story speak for itself.</p>

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<p>that was a fairly reflective essay</p>

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<p>haha, rorosen, I was thinking just that when I was reading OP's problem</p>