I was super excited to come in today because I knew that we were having some workshops on scholarship essays and resumes. I was also excited to get some group project work times. Yesterday, our Body Stories group got a ton of work done, so today all we had to do was practice the presentation. However, we have not had a ton of work time on our Cradle to Grave project, which worried me a lot. Working today, I got my entire diorama finished for my section of the project and finished off my research. My group is planning on meeting over the weekend to finalize everything and work out the kinks.
Writing a Resume
One of the workshops we did was on writing your resume. Our lead interns introduced the topic and went over what to put in your resume. Then we had a chance to start writing it while the interns were walking around to help. Earlier this year, I decided to take a chance and see if acting was a career option for me. I went to a few auditions and even got recognized by a talent scout. During the process, I was told that I needed to create an acting resume. I had no clue how to make one, so of course, I went straight to google to find a template. My resume, while decent, was still a bit fuzzy and didn't have a ton of sophistication to it. When the interns said that we would be working on resumes, I thought that it would be very similar to my acting resume (I even made a copy of my resume to just edit a little bit to fit a college narrative). Boy was I wrong. There is so much more detail that goes into a good resume. While you can just list everything you've done, a good resume has detail and explanation. I completely trashed my copy of my acting resume and started my college resume from scratch. I was nervous, but the interns were there for me and walked me through it. Unfortunately, I did not finish before we had to head to lunch, but I texted Maggie this afternoon and she said that she would take a look at my resume. Looking at both resumes together, I can tell which resume is stronger and more appealing. While my acting resume will probably sit in its google drive folder for a while, my college resume is one that I can truly maneuver and adapt to accompany me through all that life has to offer.
Writing a Scholarship Essay
Our director, Al Squire, came in today to talk to us about what to include in a scholarship essay. He spoke of the key points that make a person appealing to scholarship boards. As a member of BBYO, one of my favorite things to do is go to conventions and events; however, most of these events cost a lot more than my family can afford. Luckily, BBYO has multiple scholarship opportunities. The major scholarships require three sets of essays. Each essay explains a different thing: why you want to go to the event, why you should get the scholarship, and what you think you will gain from the event. The first time I wrote these essays, I was very nervous and wasn't quite sure what to do. I had never had to write a scholarship essay before (or even an entrance essay for the matter). Over time, I felt like I got better at writing these essays, but after the lecture, I realize that my essays were still pretty weak. When writing, you need to make sure you get across just how much the scholarship is important to you and why YOU should be the one to get it. Show what makes YOU special and important. This lecture helped me to understand what committees will look for and how to include them in your essay. I know now that scholarship essays don't have to be as scary as I believe (and hopefully this year I can get a BBYO Scholarship to go to our International Convention before I graduate).
Quote of the Day
“Because if this is to be my fate, I'm going to walk boldly into it on my own two feet.” - Natasha Ngan, Girls of Paper and Fire
Final Thoughts
At the end of today, I walked out with a ton of information to digest. A lot of information got thrown at me today, but at the same time, I got a ton of important work done. I am glad that the stress of writing my resume is over and glad that the stress of our group work is over. There is still a ton of stuff for me to do to prepare for what is to come in my life, but MedEx has truly helped me develop a greater understanding and formulate a plan about what is to come in my college journey. I can't wait for day thirteen. I give day twelve 3 out of 5 stars.
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