Writing my Personal Statement
Surely I am too old for this? I thought that when I got into university I would never have to attempt to pen a 'personal statement' ever again. A supporting statement or letter of application, yes, but a personal statement? That was the stuff of nightmares.
This was mostly due to the fact that my rather eclectic choice of university courses ensured that writing an all encompassing essay to 'sell' myself to the mish-mash of institutions was never going to be possible. One of the benefits of hindsight, but at the time, all that I thought about was the possibility of acceptance onto courses at institutions that I liked, or my friend was studying at, or someone off the telly had gone there. It's curious what motivates a 17 year old.
At the time of my UCAS personal statement I was taken in hand by a history teacher who had been assigned to help me, and he re-wrote my hapless prose. It certainly sounded better when he'd finished, but I was still uncertain about whether it would work. Still, I followed it through like the mediocre student that I was, received three offers and three rejections, participating along the way in possibly the most rambling and directionless spiel about the true king in Hamlet (I still cringe when I think of that hour), ballsed up my A levels and landed squarely in clearing with nothing more than a telephone, two scraped A level passes and my wits. They just about held out, and I did make it to university.
The current personal statement is in support of my application for a PGCE course. This will enable me to become a teacher, and sculpt minds for the future. Or dodge spitballs of the future. (Do children still do that?) I'm happy with my decision to do that. I just hate this damnable personal statement. Why is it that it's so hard to write about oneself in a good light? I could write several thousand slightly ironic words about myself, but trying to write 500 positive and sincere-sounding ones - it's been driving me to distraction for days.