Blocked...

I have an awful phobia of writing college entrance essays. My mind goes blank and I just freeze. This doesn't happen with resumes, just entrance essays. I have a deadline coming up in a month, but it's not as easy as "just write it." I’ve been hearing that for years, as well as telling myself that, and it's not working. Any thoughts or methods people use or any other advice? 

"Know your strengths, know your weaknesses, and know how to protect yourself from your weaknesses." 

I came across this quote just a couple of weeks ago and it applies to your situation. You already know that you struggle with essays, so you have to pull out the full combat armor and gather your troops to get through this. My suggestion: 

This weekend or next weekend at the very latest, get a friend to come over to your house with a laptop. Talk out loud about what you want to say in the essay while your friend types your thoughts. Then, organize those ideas into an outline. Continue to talk about the guts of each section of the outline while your friend continues to type. Feed your friend some good food. Talk and type, talk and type. Take a look at what you have. It’s taking shape. Mold and squeeze and edit and spell check what you have. Have your friend look at it. Take your friend’s suggestions. See?  It’s great! Turn it in. 

DO NOT spend any more time trying to figure out why you go blank or why you just can’t do it. Analyze why your mind goes blank AFTER you ship off your essay. Your job is to get this done, and you need someone to help you. Don’t second-guess this, just get the help.  

Protect yourself from your weaknesses so you can fully express your strengths. Get this behind you so you can go to school.