Essays that got students in.
Curated from publicly published, permission-cleared sources — Johns Hopkins, NYT Modern Love, Connecticut College and others. We index, summarize, and link out. Read the originals at the source.
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I am every woman I have ever met. My sister Chloe taught me how to be a girl. I'm not just talking about the endless hours she put into teaching me how to apply blush or braid my hair. I'm talking about the love and compassion she gave me; her tenderness is woven through me like a piece of thread. Now, when I touch my cheek or brush my hair, I feel the love of my sister. We were all sorts of things together: fairies, storytellers, dreamers. But most importantly, we were girls. But then, Chloe went to boarding school. I was only 11, but I had to be brave to live without her, and I was made brave by Chloe, which is to say I was made brave by love.