Common App "LIFE EXPERIENCE" essay assistance?!

<p>So I spent 2 years in a leadership development school in which I started out as the one needing help, and then I moved on to be the mentor myself. It was a great experience, but I feel that it may be too broad to write an essay on. So far, I have written an essay on my own progress in the program, with a modest amount of the work I've put into helping others (although my E.C.s do show it)... Any advice on how I should approach my essay, or just some pointers? I'm applying to Brown, JHU and Cornell soonest.</p>

<p>Write about a specific experience in that leadership development school (e.g. “One day…”, “In this event, which spanned several…”) that highlights what you want to express.</p>

<p>an event should not be a few days thing. It should be a one split second thing that made you realize you have never realized before.
Combining two very different things also make the essay good.
For example, someone wrote an essay about how his field trip to the aquarium made him want to play the drums again. His ‘event’ was hearing the sharks thud on the glass. THis automatically brought his conscious to the time when he played his drums.
Do you see the correlation? COlleges want to see that you pick out things no one else would pick out or even notice.
Good luck :)</p>