Everyone is Special...

So, I was trying to give this guy some gyan on how to write essays for his B-School applications and I said something rather profound.

I said, stop getting so caught up in making yourself seem special to the person reading your essay that you forget what you're trying to say...

That was all right. But what I said that I'm really proud of was... Everyone is special. But no one really is... So tell them who you are and let them decide whether or not you're good enough for their school.

Sure, there are the exceptionally gifted few. Academically brilliant, can talk the hind leg off a donkey, dance with grace, good on the sports field, play a variety of musical instruments with obscure sounding names and sensitive too. But just how many of them are there? Few enough to allow the word 'exceptional' have a real meaning is my guess.

The majority of us are what I call normal. We all have a few talents, a few priorities, do well at some things, not too well at others and all that sort of thing. Academically brilliant but introverted. Extroverted but foot-in-the-mouth. Talented but not determined or dedicated enough. And so on.

What is important is to realize that there is still something that you and you alone are good at. And nothing can take that away from you.

At the end of it all, when I look at all this SOP writing, higher education and all that jazz, I realize that it's important that you stay true to who you are. It's important to realize that you might not be exceptional, but are probably gifted. And, realize that it's as important that the school fits you as you fit it.