<p>I finished my two personal statements for UC's. For the first one, I kind of just sat down and wrote freely, and it came out much better than I expected. For the second one, I chose a topic that was very personal to me - being an identical twin. Because I was having some trouble putting my feelings into words, I decided to do what I always do when I'm stuck creatively. I spent a good hour reading articles/stories/blogs/interviews online written by twins for inspiration. After I was finished, I immediately sat down and wrote the first draft. </p>
<p>Now I'm paranoid that little bits and pieces of all those different sources creeped into my essay. I can think of one bit in particular. I was reading this interview given by a famous twin, and they said one line that just so perfectly, eloquently summed up what it feels like to be a twin, so I slipped it in. I tried to change it up by putting in new adjectives and tweaking things, but the general structure and idea is still the same (as in, if you compared side by side, you could clearly see the similarities). You know when you just read a passage or a quote and you feel this instant connection? Like that passage or quote took a thought or feeling you had, and summed it up in a way so perfect and concise? That's pretty much how I felt. </p>
<p>Considering that I finished this well over a week ago, I didn't really care too much. After all, a line or two is nothing, considering that UC essays are such a dirty game anyway - I know people getting their mom to write their essay for them, or people who have paid a "professional" editor to rewrite the thing. I'm sure lots of kids use quotes without citation. But now I'm feeling kind of anxious. My dad told me that my second essay was very touching for him to read. I guess I felt a little guilty? I feel like I should have just written the thing cold, no outside influences whatsoever. </p>
<p>Am I stressing out about nothing?</p>
I needed to hear that </p>
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