Example: I tore my ACL senior year of high school and was forced to sit on the bench for my senior year on the tennis team. Though I was a captain, I was unable to play. I thought my world had ended. I had no idea how I could help the team from the sidelines. A few weeks into the season, one of the freshman girls asked me what she was doing wrong with her serve. Though I couldn’t show her because I was still on crutches, I coached her during team breaks. I found that I enjoyed teaching and mentoring as much as playing, if not more. I discovered that I could find a silver lining in every cloud, that I was not the type to give up. Knowing this about myself helped me get through a lot of challenging times and reassures me even today that I am no quitter.

Good luck on your college essay. Make sure whatever story you tell is true and not overly dramatic. They can usually tell when you’re pushing the truth a little too far. Everyone has a great story packed away somewhere. You just have to dig deep enough. Just think of the last time you were really proud of yourself or discovered something about yourself that you liked.