Family

Family is important. Family is everything. My family is kind of screwed up, but not as screwed up as the New FamilySearch has it! I am frustrated, and never have time to work it out in the daytime. I've asked knowledgeable people what to do when a woman is married to her husband - and needs to be sealed to her child which is actually herself! Ack! 

The most knowledgeable say to call the toll free number and ask for help, but I haven't actually talked to my local consultants yet. How silly of me to put it off! 

Now is the time, this is the place, and I am the one to be setting it straight! What am I waiting for?

Thanks for listening. 


12/28/2010 PS I did (finally) straighten it all out. It was a WONDERFUL feeling.

Clouds by day, Fire by night

Isaiah 4:5-6.
"And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain."

It's the cloud by day and the fire by night, the presence of God in the lives of the people of Zion. It struck me during Sunday School this week that this sign of protection and leadership, this sign of God's love, is not just available to the Children of Israel during their wanderings in the wilderness as they learn what they need to learn in preparation for living in the Promised Land. It's not just available to the Brother of Jared and his friends & family while they travel through the wilderness to the Promised Land. 

It's available to me, to my family, as we follow our path through the wilderness of our lives. 

That's what jumped out at me. I can just see it in my mind's eye - the tangible presence of God there on top of my house. What a blessing. God loves us. Individually. He cares for us through our day-to-day trials. 

From the CTA Writing Mentor: Five Bites & Eight Triangles

Greetings!

 

College Tuition Assistance Students: Here's a fun story. It really happened to me, just a few weeks ago. It will be posted on the CollegeEssayMentor.blogspot.com blog, and you are welcome to check it out and make a comment!

 

Read it especially if you're feeling a little overwhelmed by all these applications!

 

 

Five Bites and Eight Triangles

 

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to bring my cousin's children home with me a for a few hours at the end of a four week holiday while he and his wife spent some time alone in Salt Lake City before they went home to England the following day. We really had fun. Since I met them downtown Salt Lake City, we rode Trax in the free zone, and we visited the lobby of the Clark Planetarium which has a giant pendulum and the coolest marble-works-type contraption you've ever seen (the photo in the link doesn't do it justice).

 

After we drove back to my house we made personal pizzas. I figured that if I only got to have these five children in my home once every two years, we would make it memorable. Everyone liked the idea of pizza except the middle child - and only boy. Samuel informed me that he doesn't like anything except peanut butter and jelly. His sisters corroborated. I asked him if strawberry jam was okay, and he said it was his favorite. He's only about as tall as the top of my kitchen counter, but he also really wanted to make his own sandwich.

 

Well, I was busy making pizza dough and pizza sauce and chopping up toppings, so I thought that was a grand idea. I gave him a plate, a knife, and two slices of homemade bread. He went to work. I watched out of the corner of my eye. It was a labor of love! He put peanut butter and jam on both sides of the sandwich, and it was thick!  When he finally decided he might be done, I quietly spread it to the edges and squished it together. The crust had to come off. Then I asked if he wanted it cut. "Eight Triangles" was his answer, so eight triangles he received!

 

I went back to my pizza preparation. One of his younger sisters amazed me!  She wanted everything, including peppers and mushrooms, on her pizza. Six pizzas went into the oven, and I had time to look around. Lo and behold, Samuel's sandwich was still sitting there! 

 

"Sam, don't forget to eat your sandwich."

 

"Oh, I'm not very hungry," said he in his charming English accent.

 

I put on my stern voice. "Sam," I quipped, "Go sit down and eat five bites right now!"

 

He went to sit down, and I busied myself with the next batch of pizza that would be going into the oven soon.

 

With my five children, and my five little cousins, there was a lot of activity in that kitchen. The next time I saw him, I followed up. "Sam, did you eat five bites?"

 

"Yes!  I ate the whole thing," he said.

 

Suddenly, Sam was my hero. He had eaten the whole thing, even when he had only gone in for five bites.

 

I realized that I need to quit seeing the whole sandwich all the time. When I'm overwhelmed with Eight Triangles, especially with the crust cut off and enough peanut butter and jam for three sandwiches, I can always start with just five bites. That's not so hard. And who knows! Maybe I'll look down soon and the plate will be empty!

 

--
Julie Gardner
CollegeEssayMentor.googlepages.com
LincolnYouthSymphony.googlepages.com
435.723.8262

From the CTA Essay Mentor: There's Always More I Could Do...

...but I'm doing the best I can!

 

So can you!

 

Greetings!

 

School has started and there is a chill in the air, at least at night. Our daily temperatures in Utah are no longer pushing 100, and everyone that worked with me until they earned Final Approval on their Common Application Essay and Short Answer are breathing a huge sigh of relief right now...

 

But some of you have not even started yet. What's with that?

 

Essay Season has begun in earnest. With that in mind, I would like to tell you a few things:

• I still work on Monday and Thursday. If I don't finish my Monday work, I work again on Tuesday. Likewise, if I don't finish my Thursday work, I work again on Friday. I try not to work on Wednesday or Saturday, but sometimes I have to. I never work on Sunday.

 

• Missed My Deadlines? Please keep working in the order I recommend:
1. Common Application Long & Short
2. Non-common-app Long
3. Common app supplements.
• From experience, I have concluded that starting with the common application essay and short answer lays a fabulous foundation for the other essays you will be required to write. Your essay writing skills will improve as you continue.
• There will never need to be as many revisions on the 3rd essay you write as there were on the first or second.

 

• You may expect a prompt response from me on all your essays. If you send an essay over the weekend and you haven't heard from me by Wednesday, please follow up. If you expect to hear from me by Friday and haven't heard, please follow up. Never wait more than a week to follow up if you haven't heard back from me.
• Sometimes Cyberspace Eats Essays!

 

• Covered In Red Ink may seem discouraging, but it is not a Bad Thing! I know some of you have been frustrated by my bold editing and comments. It is simply part of the Do Again until we have Quality Work and earn Final Approval system. 
• It is part of the writing process; if the Red Ink weren't there, I would not be doing my job, nor would you be getting your money's worth.

 

• It is extremely frustrating to spend time writing comments and giving valuable advice to receive an essay revision that seemingly ignores them. This doesn't happen very often, but when it does, I assume that you simply can't see my comments. 
• If you receive an essay from me without visible comments, then you need to adjust the settings in your MS Word program. There will always be at least one comment! Comments are not just editing - insertions and deletions - in the text of the essay. They are happy little letters I write to you, and I put a lot of time into them!
• I can't tell you what they'll look like on your version of Word (sometimes they're in the margin, sometimes they pop up in little bubbles when you hover your mouse, and sometimes they are in a separate split window below), but they are always there!  Please read them and do as I ask, even if it's hard! You Can Do Hard Things! 
• Here is one way to check your computer for Comments Compatibility: On the downloads page, I have added a PDF file of the test document. There is a comment, an insertion, and a deletion in this document. If you download both the DOC and the PDF, you will see how it looks in your version of MS Word, and you will also see a PDF of what it looks like for me!

Happy Writing!  Let's get down to business... After all, it's essay season!

 

If this email does not make sense to you, please re-read my website; if that adds to your confusion, please contact me!

--

Julie Gardner

CollegeEssayMentor.googlepages.com

LincolnYouthSymphony.googlepages.com

435.723.8262

July Expectations -- Fair Warning From Your Essay Mentor

Greetings!

I have seen some fantastic potential in your mock essays. You are to be commended!  There are a few mock essays still to be submitted in the next week, but then we're past the practice time and down to serious writing.

If for some reason you haven't participated yet, now is the time to start. You need to submit your common application rough draft essay in the next two weeks. I do not want all of them on the last day of that window... July 7th! If you do that to me, I will personally... find... some way to take revenge! :)  So, look at your calendar, or better yet, start this weekend, and work on it until you don't know what else to change, and then submit it to me. We'll send essays back and forth, and you may surprise yourself, because it's fun!

Your common application Personal Essay and Short Answer both need to be finished by the end of July. There is also a deadline at the end of August for all long essays, and the end of September and October for all supplements and short answer essays. More information is available here.

But the Common Application Project now... in July... is by far the most important assignment you will do for me. This is where you grow exponentially in your ability to write a good college entrance essay. This is when you get good at it so it will only get easier as the summer turns to fall.

Remember, I work on a "Do Again" vs "Final Approval" basis, so it is difficult for me to tell you how long it will take to finish an essay. Be prompt in your revisions. Make a goal of a 24 hour turn-around! Be willing to work hard and answer tough questions. If I don't specifically say "Final Approval" assume that it's a "Do Again" and work on it, then re-submit.

You are truly fortunate to be doing this in the summer! Let's make it a memorable essay summer... I promise I won't take all your time. Just most of it!

Don't be the person who emails me in November and says "so what am I supposed to do?" I probably won't answer!

Do it now... You won't regret it!

Julie

PS Notice below that there are two common application prompts. The first is the long essay. We shoot for about 500-550 words, and the second is the 150-word-maximum short answer. You may choose to write both essays together, or do one at a time. Whatever you do, both need to be finished by the end of July. You know yourself better than I know you!

Common Application Personal Essay Prompt

This personal statement helps us become acquainted with you in ways different from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. We are looking for an essay that will help us know you better as a person and as a student. Please write an essay (250 words minimum) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below. Please indicate your topic by checking the appropriate box.

• Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
• Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. 
• Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
• Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
• A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
• Topic of your choice.
  

Common Application Short Answer Prompt

Please briefly elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience). Attach your response on a separate sheet (150 words or fewer).

--
Julie Gardner
435.723.8262

Mock Essays and Revisions

Greetings!

I have been accepting Mock Essays for about a week and a half, and I want to clarify Mock Essay protocol. I have received about 1/4 of the number of submissions I was expecting from you.

If, for some reason, you are unable to submit your Mock Essay on or before your due date, common courtesy would suggest that you let me know so I might fill your slot with a new student, or someone whose date does not work for them.

I have had a few students who have worked with me on this, and I greatly appreciate their courtesy! They have found that I am really nice.

I will send a reminder before your essay is due, but if you do not submit your essay, I do not follow up. I am not a babysitter, I am a consultant. If you want to take advantage of this service, by all means, do it, but I will not beg, plead, or coerce. 

I know this is a busy time of year, and that you are facing the end of school and finals. I also know that in the summer you will be working, or at camp, or on a trip with your family. There will always be a conflict. To take advantage of this service, you need to make a choice and stick with it. If we lived next door to each other, I would offer chocolate, but we don't, so offer yourself an incentive each time you send in an essay, or accept the incentive of self-satisfaction stemming from a job well done.

Now, as you prepare to receive my response to your mock essay, realize that each response is personal. It will be tailored to the essay you send. Realize that there will always be some -- or many -- suggestion(s) from me for improvement. Realize that revision is a change in the fundamental nature of the essay, and that "revise" often means "start over."

I have been truly impressed with the mock essays that have come to me so far, even when I have to send radical comments and requests for fundamental revisions, and I only wish that more of you would see the importance of participating. You don't actually have to act on those suggestions. After all, it is the Mock Essay.... But it is a fantastic opportunity. Don't waste it.

One more thing: If you are one of the people who didn't send in an essay on your prescribed date, make time for it and send it anyway. I will get to it, and I promise you, it will be worth it!


Have a lovely day,
Julie
CollegeEssayMentor.googlepages.com
--
Julie Gardner
435.723.8262

Essay Mentor Checking In

Greetings!

I am writing to let everyone know that I have been up to my eyeballs in a Shakespeare play over the last couple of weeks. Beginning Monday, May 26, I will be back "online" and I will have time to respond thoroughly to everyone's emails which I have been carefully saving in a special folder!  Please accept my apologies, and expect to hear from me this Monday.

Have a wonderful day,
Julie

--
Julie Gardner
435.723.8262