students without sprinkles

alternately titled: what have we created?

When an incoming senior/would-be college applicant need to craft an essay that addresses:

an event or experience that has left an impact

she desperately wants to shine. She chooses from extra-curricular activities, trips to foreign countries, or kitchen time with grandma...her wizened hands kneading the dough as she passes along memories and experiences with every chocolate chip added to the luscious batter that she learned how to craft in the military kitchens during World Wa -

Sorry.

But she is reticent to write about the first time she ordered a pink frosted doughnut, with sprinkles, without the aide of a parent. She misses that this 'event' is initiative and independence, replete with empty calories. She mistakes the title of 'President' of her youth group as a synonym for 'Acceptance' to her desired colleges.

In short, she misses what writing is all about.