what happened to our college essay selves?

I’ve been thinking about seventeen-year-old me lately, hunched over college application essays at 2 AM, fingers cramped from writing about changing the world. There was something almost embarrassing about that younger self. The earnestness, the unshakeable belief that I would dedicate my life to serving something greater than myself. The way I wrote with such conviction about fostering understanding, creating impact, building a more compassionate humanity. Reading those essays now feels like rereading stupid love letters written to a person I no longer recognize. Thanks for reading detachments.! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. What happened to that fire? College applications were just the beginning of a massive sorting mechanism: a funnel that grows narrower at each stage. University admissions, internships, job stability, promotions, net worth. Each round more brutal, more selective. The funnel sorts us into four paths: The voluntary exits: People who find

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• Andria Xu