Haiku (or) An Observation On Writing The College Application Essay

It dawned on me that the college essay is the ultimate haiku. The goal: reveal your academic and human promise in hopes of being accepted over thousands of other worthy applicants. The space? Limited, to say the least. Word choice is the key. Every syllable is important, and each word has to pull its own weight.

In haiku, one must fit complex ideas and discoveries into seventeen syllables, disguise them with two vivid images and words layered with connotations. It is easy to sit down and write 500 words, and it is easy to write haiku, if your only goal is following grade school’s 5-7-5 syllabic pattern. Writing good haiku, haiku that conveys a clear picture of the universe in a simple captured moment, is about as hard as using a spoon to battle evil ooze monsters.

I have, for instance, twice lain awake for several hours, revising and reworking two sentences in my head. It’s amazing how one can agonize over thirteen little words. I was quite happy with the result, true, and I can only hope that my college haiku will have similar results. Then again, I’ve only completed two haiku that I actually like, and neither truly embody all of the elements of good haiku.

Similarly, I have my doubts about the college essay. Once the word count goes above fifteen, I have problems. I love my words. I love beautifully verbose phrases, absurd and unneeded. Their beauty in sound captivate me, and I can’t help but succumb to temptation.

Similarly, it is almost impossible for a student to summarize seventeen or eighteen years of experience in one page essay. Each crop of seniors must find a way to fit their personalities, their hopes, their dreams, their promise, their very souls onto an eight and a half by eleven inch sheet of paper. The mind boggles, really, that so many have actually succeeded.

My haiku experience is limited; I am only beginning to understand the complexities of the form. One does not have to use the strict syllabic pattern of 5-7-5; the rule does not make sense in English, and so should not apply to true haiku. One should focus on images and never explain; the words should speak for themselves. The college essay is not so different. Applicants’ essays aim to show who the student is, present the person with a clarity that renders explanation unnecessary. Luckily, I’ve had a little more practice with essays than with haiku. Perhaps seventeen years of talking to myself will actually pay off.