<p>My S wrote about a minor science event for which I won a prize. I'm sure zillions of students have won more prestigious awards. But, if I may say so, his personality really came through the essay. His focus was on his struggles to build the object for the event. He told the story in his trademark slightly hard-boiled self-deprecating style. Even his mention of the prize was undermined by self-deprecation. I thought it worked very well. Interestingly, it was the essay he worked the least on.</p>