Finding You

"Tell me about yourself.” It’s sometimes a dreaded question in a job interview  or at party with strangers or on a college application. 

Students struggle with this when they write college admissions essays. They are torn between that need to impress a college admissions committee  and the desire to be honest—and often “honest” for them feels like saying “I don’t know.. I’m not very interesting..” 

In truth, however, everybody is interesting. The thing I love most about being an English teacher is leading students to that moment when they realize they have something to say that people actually want to know about.  This moment of truth isn’t just for high school students though. It’s for any one of us who struggles with wondering if we are significant or talented or have anything worthwhile to say. 

I like using mind maps. I like how they can inspire reluctant writers to begin chronicling their experience, because it is almost always easy and just  a little bit fun to fill in a bubble with a word or two. What’s a word you love? A word you hate? A favorite song? A favorite person? A smell from your childhood? An animal you remember?  

I have shared a mind map here that I use to get students thinking toward the college admissions essay.  Here is the process I use, and I would love to know if this is helpful for you, whether you have a high school student you want to help or whether you want to do this exercise to explore your own life and writing. 

First, just fill in the bubbles as quickly as you can. You might want to time this—maybe see if you can fill up the page in about 10 minutes. 

Second, take a look at what you wrote. Two or three things will stand out to you as something you might want to think about more. Circle these. 

Third, on the back of your page (or with your laptop or notebook), give yourself 7 minutes to write about this topic. Don’t think through this at all; just write what comes to mind. Seven minutes is a good time period for this because it is too short of a time to get bogged down into thinking you have to write something perfect but it is long enough to say something significant. 

Fourth, take another one of your circled topics and do the same thing. 

Fifth, repeat with the third topic. 

When you have done three of these seven minute writing prompts, you will probably find that one is your favorite.  It is so important at this point to either read aloud to yourself or find someone to read to. The value of another reader is that he or she will hear things you didn’t realize you said, and  will ask questions that will lead you to what else you need to say.   

The 2025 Common App Essay questions are available online, and I do give these to students.  What we find, however, is that just about anything they write from the mind map can relate and  be tailored to at least one of the questions. The value of beginning with the mind map rather than the  common questions is  that the mind map invites authenticity. It just invites you to talk about something in your life.  And anything you talk about can be a portal for some deeper exploration; anything—even remembering the old dining room table in your house—can lead you down a path of understanding who you are and what you value.  

This writing process is not just for students writing essays. You may use it to inspire a collection of vignettes about your life..  or a song.. or a novel.  

So I invite you to have fun with this map. The prompts will likely inspire other prompts. See what happens, and I would love for you to share your stories or ideas here on the blog.  (by the way--if you want the entire picture send me a note at chutton@outlook.org and I will send you the copy; I am still learning about graphics in this blog!

Thank you for reading. I’ll see you Thursday!