At age five I fell on a rose bush at my aunt's wedding, resulting in an oval-shaped wound on my left knee. Though my father tended to the bruise, my first scar upset me: I viewed it as a burden that would forever plague my leg. Today, however, I embrace each unique scar, for in attaining each one, I grew wiser. Each one has a story that is a part of who I am. I have accumulated numerous scars, chiefly...

Doll houses were my favorite childhood toy. Each set consisted of an elaborate home, a mother, a father, a daughter, and her siblings. My reality, beginning after first grade, consisted of two-fifths of that formula: my father and I living in my grandmother’s former rental property. His single parent income could not tolerate a lavish abode, the Philadelphia Department of Human Services removed my siblings and me from my mother’s care when I was in kindergarten, and my...

Do not worry if you do not visit a school before you apply, especially a selective one. Accepted students' weekends are the best...