Ready, Set, GO!

Round 1 has officially started for me. Kellogg School of Management released their application essays last week, three required 600 word essays and one 400 word essay on one of four topics. That gives me 2200 words to show an admissions committee that I belong in Kellogg's class of 2014. No, that I more than belong...that they need me and my 9 years of sales management experience, colorful writing skills, and lofty ideas about building communities through public-private partnerships. I have 2200 words to tell them where I've been, where I am, where I want to go and most importantly why. I have to tell them my story. 2200 words isn't nearly enough to capture 30 years.

So this is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. There aren't enough words to bring forth every detail, every next step, every falter, and every recovery. So which ones do I tell? "Choose the ones that tell your story," people say. My story. I have so many. Do I tell the story about latent potential finally being realized? Do I tell the story of self discovery? Am I the comeback kid or simply plotting a very careful move to the place I really belong? I've tried but I still can't decide on the packaging. Can I make it all make sense without crafting a novella?

Maybe if I sit down and just write then the story will weave itself. Answering the questions asked without regard to the packaging just might show the admissions committee everything they want to see in a Kellogg student. Maybe if I just write I won't have to try; I can just be. And maybe, just maybe, I can show my intellectual capacity, leadership potential, career vision, collaborative nature, and creativity in 2200 words.