Essentials: A Step-by-step Guide ... — College Essay

Leo opened "The Guide." Step one was simple:

He grabbed a napkin and started scribbling. Responsibility. Humor. Curiosity. He thought about the time he tried to fix his grandfather’s vintage radio and ended up blowing a fuse in the entire house. It was funny, sure, but did it show growth? Step two: College Essay Essentials: A Step-by-Step Guide ...

As the sun began to bleed through the diner windows, Leo hit the final step: Leo opened "The Guide

Leo slashed through his flowery adjectives. He cut the "thesaurus words" he’d used to sound smart. The guide told him to find his "vulnerable voice." He deleted a paragraph about his GPA and replaced it with a sentence about the frustration of a soldered wire that wouldn't stick. Curiosity

The neon hum of the 24-hour diner was the only thing keeping Leo awake. In front of him sat a laptop, a cold basket of fries, and a blinking cursor that felt like a heartbeat. He was staring at the prompt for his dream university: Tell us about a time you failed.