<p>I have a problem in expressing my views and more importantly writing about myself , I can't even write an interesting "About me" on a social networking site . I realized that I couldn't write an essay , while applying for colleges abroad . I had a look at some sample essays for college admissions and was simply overwhelmed , there's no way I could write essays like that . One of the colleges I applied for asked me to write a 1000 word essay on any one extracurricular activity but I have never really done anything worth mentioning in any EC , I've simply been a 'jack of all and a master of none' . Though I've always got decent grades in English, I am poor in writing anything creative ,I guess a problem with CBSE's system, but I'm not bad at editing and compiling anything ripped off the internet . Despite having 'good' academic stats,I feel so screwed up .I guess I'll never get into the colleges I dreamed of . What should I do in this regard?</p>
<p>Have you already applied or will you apply for the class of 2015?</p>
<p>well , applying for this fall</p>
<p>I completely understand your angst against the CBSE system. But when it comes to the US system of education, you must know how to sell yourself! Now this might sound a bit absurd to you, but this is exactly what you should do.</p>
<p>You say that you have a long list of ECs, right? Take a piece of paper, sit down and write down all the ECs that you have done. Cross all of them that you did solely for the purpose of skipping the class. Of the remaining, think which is the one thing that you genuinely felt happy doing. It could be anything, believe me. This one thing (or more) is what you are really passionate about.</p>
<p>When it comes down to writing a college application essay, write multiple ‘drafts’. Just vomit everything that comes to your mind in the first draft. In the second draft, pick and choose the important information of the first draft. Slowly and steadily, move to the third draft - crisp and succinct. You say your editing is good. The third draft should not cause much trouble.</p>
<p>The essays that you have read over the internet have been proofread over and over again. Don’t loose heart; trust your abilities. Nobody is a good writer since birth. But we can always become one!</p>
<p>@harvard17 is bang on, it is all about selling yourself. When I did my essay I spent weeks on it and came out with something that was completely different than what I went in with. What I wrote about was a deeply personal experience of finding a brother in an unlikely stranger who became an inspiration to me, so while harvard17’s advice is good, it does not cover the full range of topics that you may be able to write about very well. If you want help finding what makes you tick (sometimes it can be tough to look in the mirror, I get that) then ask your friends how they would describe you. What would they say you are really excited about? If they needed to go to you for advice on a topic or to learn about something, what would that be? Your parents can potentially be a good resource too, although they can somethimes think of us as great at everything.</p>
<p>@FatEnvelopeGuy: You are right! When I was writing my college application essays, I used to go in with a particular idea, theme and structure in my mind. But, eventually, things that were structurally malicious had to be kept away to maintain the flow of the piece!</p>
<p>As for the EC thing, I described just one of the many ways to realize what one is passionate about. Although if you are genuinely interested in something, you don’t need the aforementioned ideology (your heart will get you the answer)!</p>