STUDENTS SELF DISCOVERY THROUGH PROFILE WRITING

I always encourage students from middle school right up to college graduates to undertake a Profile Writing exercise. This is a simple little 250 to 300-word document where one talks about certain basic information about oneself – Name, School/College, Grade/Year. This is followed by stating 3 Areas of Interest/Passion. And then, really expanding on these 3 areas of interest by devoting the following 3 paragraphs of the profile to these interest areas. One paragraph each for one interest, with details about Where, When, How, and Why that Interest first began. Any Achievements in that area. And any Learnings/Lessons/ Realizations (about oneself or otherwise) during experiencing/pursuing that particular passion. A concluding paragraph that talks about any Current Pursuit that the reader might find interesting, followed by a final sentence on Future Plans, which could be firm, or approximate.

While there may not be any immediate practical use or requirement for this kind of write-up in a student’s curriculum; young people should view this more as an opportunity to Introspect and get to know themselves well. Undertaking the Profile Writing Exercise compels a student to dig deep, question oneself and ultimately know oneself better. It brings about clarity of thought, purpose and direction for the future. At a time when young students scarcely have time to breathe; this exercise forces them to pause, reflect and discover t h e m s e l ve s , likes and dislikes, their learnings and can provide significant guidance in planning. Writing a Profile also helps communicate a differentiated personality. When one is applying for colleges or jobs post-college, even though you may not be asked for a write-up such as this; supplying the reader/organization/college/company with a profile of yourself will, in most scenarios, be appreciated. First, it will ‘humanize’ the student and provide a glimpse into the candidate as an actual person (rather than just another on-paper CV or Resume). Second, it will give genuine insight into the candidate as a unique individual. Both are vital to communicating a winsome personality. I strongly urge students to undertake this little exercise. And for this, I leave you with a SAMPLE Profile to get you started. All the best

SAMPLE PROFILE!
I am Karan Malhotra and I currently study in grade 6 at the Asian World School. I would say that my three main interest areas are Swimming, Science, and Music. When I was just seven years old, I told my father I wanted to learn to swim. He would complete the entire length of the swimming pool at Jaipur Club in no time, and that always amazed me. That summer my parents enrolled me in swimming classes and I became a proficient swimmer. I learned an important lesson through swimming. I realized that to do well in anything in life, one has to work hard and be disciplined.

Science has always fascinated me. Like swimming, my passion for science developed at a very early age. When I was just five my parents got me a game where one had to use fake tweezers to undertake a pretendmedical procedure on a human being. I used to love playing that. As I grew older, I watched many videos on channels like National Geographic and Discovery which made me even more curious about science. At school, I always take part in science-related activities and enjoy doing experiments and building things. It is one subject I think I will want to study for a long time to come. My parents and my grandparents love music. I too developed a keen interest in music and my parents got me a great guitar instructor with whom I soon learned many melodies. This talent was appreciated by my music teachers at school as well and I am a proud member of the school orchestra. Listening to and playing music makes me feel calm and inspired. These days, I am working on a Solar Powered Rocket for a Science Exhibition. I hope to become a Scientist working in Aeronautics in the future while continuing my swimming and music as hobbies. Based on the above Sample profile, think, introspect, write and discover yourselves!