Tufts Blogs

36 minutes ago, I left a session on stories run by Clear Creek Creative as a part of the Rural College Access and Success Summit. And let me tell you. I had more than one “aha!” moment during the two hour session.

We started off by listening to a snippet of “a multimedia, socially-distanced production” of The Shiners, created by students at Owsley County High School in Kentucky. A few of the students even joined us for the full two hour session.

The Shiners production incorporated elements of “where I’m from” poetry, as inspired by poet George Ella Lyon. Here are a few excerpts from those shared poems from students:

I’m from grandma’s fried chicken and mashed potatoes on a summer day.

I’m from villages of old, questionable morals, questionable deeds, questionable goals.

I am from ripping dirt bikes through trails, feeling the wind against my entire body, losing control and wrecking, leaving stories on my skin.

I am from playing music in a band where neighbors can hear us all the way down the road.

And as someone who reads literally thousands of college essays every single year, these hit me hard. A lot of college essay writing comes down to communicating your experiences with a stranger (or more accurately, a group of strangers). 

The poems that were shared with me during the session deeply resonated with me because of how true they were to the students writing them. An honesty struck through the words they shared. There’s nothing flashy or super unique about the stories the students shared (I also have fallen prey to the power of my grandma’s potatoes), but the framing of the experiences hold incredibly unique to each student. 

A powerful exercise for high school seniors (maybe you!) thinking about college is reflecting on who you are and what you want out of the next part of your life. As you learn more about college and what you want out of your collegiate experience, you first need to know where you’re from. Root yourself in your present to learn how you will move into your future. Carve out time to reflect on who you are, where you’re from, and maybe even who you want to be. And then let those reflections lead you down unexpected paths in how you might choose to share yourself and your story with us college folks through your college application.

I’m from a school gym that serves as an auditorium that serves as a cafeteria that serves as a stage for town halls that serves as a voting center in my hometown of 2,000 people.

I am from a vegan gram allowing herself a brief respite every holiday to enjoy my sister’s special buttery potato creations.

I am from tilting my head all the way back to stare at the stars when I first arrive at my mom’s house tucked in the trees when visiting from my apartment tucked off of Mass Ave.

How about you?