Essay

Today I discovered that in addition to filling out the UMUC Financial Aid Data Form and the FAFSA, I have to submit a scholarship application in order to be considered for any of UMUC's scholarships. You would think that this application would be attached to the Financial Aid Data Form, that way, they get all your information including the color of your underwear.

I finally find the form and begin reading through the information. It asks the typical questions; name, student ID number, email address, major and you're asked to select all the characteristics that apply to you.

After that, they say:

(Only one essay is required for consideration by all scholarship
programs.) In the box below, briefly explain your reasons for submitting this
application. Be sure to write your name and Social Security number on each page.
Discuss these five topics:

1. Your eligibility for each program selected for consideration
2. Your personal circumstances related to your financial need for a scholarship
3. Your academic and career goals
4. Your current employment and its relationship to your future plans
5. Your leadership roles and community involvement

Please be concise. You may also include any other information that you feel is pertinent to your application. You may attach only one additional page. Finally, the style and content of your personal statement will be considered when the nominating committee reviews your application. For assistance in writing your essay, please refer to UMUC's online Guide to Writing and Research. Good luck!

I read this list of requirements and cringed at the thought of having to write something about myself. You'd think I'd be used to doing that given the fact that I blog on a daily basis. Alas, I immediately started thinking of ways to get out of writing this essay. I even asked a friend to write it for me. She said no, but said that she would proof whatever I write.

The funniest thing about this whole essay thing is that I keep hearing Anthony Michael Hall reciting the following from the Breakfast Club:

The Breakfast Club: Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you're crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out, is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.