# My Story — a 6–8 page writing workbook

Aim for roughly 1,800–2,400 words across eight chapters (about 225–300 each). This is a draft target, not a requirement. Page count depends on spacing, font and margins. For six chapters, combine 1+2 and 7+8.

Choose the prompts that lead to real experiences; you do not have to answer every question.

## 1. Who I am beyond the application

Introduce a person, through one specific moment.

Start with an ordinary scene that reveals something about you.

- What would someone close to you say you care about, and what example shows it?
- What do you spend time doing when nobody is grading you?
- Which experience, place or community has shaped how you see the world?
- What is one assumption people make about you that misses something important?

Writing tip: Choose two or three details that reveal a pattern. Explain what they mean to you instead of listing personality traits.

Your draft:


## 2. My family and the stone business

Explain the personal connection behind this portfolio.

Describe a real moment around your mom’s work that stayed with you.

- What have you actually seen your mom do in the business, and what did you notice?
- What does a typical job involve, from a drawing to an installed surface? Describe only the parts you know.
- What question about measurements, materials or planning made you want to learn more?
- Why does this setting matter to you personally, beyond having something for a résumé?

Writing tip: Let a concrete observation carry the story. Separate what you watched from what you personally contributed.

Your draft:


## 3. How my interest in engineering developed

Trace curiosity into a question you wanted to investigate.

Pick a problem or object that made you ask, “How does this work?”

- When did mathematics, physics or design first feel useful outside a classroom?
- What do you enjoy about AutoCAD or Fusion, and which part is still difficult?
- What draws you toward engineering: making, testing, explaining, improving or something else?
- How has your idea of engineering changed as you have learned more?

Writing tip: You do not need a lifelong passion story. A recent, specific change in your thinking can be more revealing.

Your draft:


## 4. One project, from question to decision

Show your own contribution through an actual example.

Choose one task you have genuinely attempted, even if it is unfinished.

- What was the question, what information did you start with, and what was missing?
- What did you personally measure, calculate, model or compare? What came from the business, a tool, AI or another person?
- Which result or design decision can you explain step by step?
- What evidence could accompany this account: a dated sketch, model history, calculation or feedback?
- What is complete, what remains unverified, and what would you do next?

Writing tip: Use the sequence question → action → result → reflection. If the work has not happened yet, write a plan now and replace it with a reflection after doing it.

Your draft:


## 5. A mistake, a challenge and a change

Reveal how you respond when the first approach fails.

Describe a real moment when you had to rethink something.

- What did you expect to happen, and what actually happened?
- What mistake, limitation or piece of feedback did you initially find difficult?
- What did you change, and how did you decide whether it helped?
- What would you now approach differently, and what are you still learning?

Writing tip: A small, well-explained mistake is enough. Spend more space on your response and changed thinking than on making the problem dramatic.

Your draft:


## 6. How I contribute to other people

Explore responsibility, communication and service.

Choose one genuine interaction or task from SafeguardSenior or another community role.

- In your social media and research role, what task did you actually take responsibility for?
- Who was the work meant to help, and what did you need to understand about that audience?
- How did you check information or make a message clearer? Describe a specific example.
- What feedback or result did you observe? If you do not know the impact, what would you need to find out?
- How did the experience change how you listen, explain or work with others?

Writing tip: Describe the work before the title. Use outcomes you can support; observation and learning are worthwhile even when you have no numerical impact data.

Your draft:


## 7. The parts of me outside engineering

Give the reader a fuller sense of your life.

Choose one interest with a story: rugby, camp volunteering, music production or another activity.

- What keeps bringing you back to this activity?
- What moment captures how you work with people or respond to pressure?
- What have you learned about patience, creativity, discipline or teamwork through it?
- Which part of this interest is simply enjoyable, without needing to connect it to engineering?

Writing tip: One developed example is stronger than a catalogue of every activity. It is fine for an interest to matter simply because you love it.

Your draft:


## 8. What I want to learn and become

End with direction, curiosity and a realistic next step.

Return to the question or value you introduced at the beginning.

- What kinds of problems would you like to understand better, and why?
- Which skill or habit do you most need to develop before September 2028?
- What is one concrete next project or action you can realistically take?
- What kind of teammate, learner or engineer do you hope to become?
- What do you want the reader to remember about you after closing this page?

Writing tip: Name a direction without pretending your future is settled. A specific next step makes the ending more convincing than a broad promise.

Your draft:


## Writing tips

- **Build around a thread.** Choose one idea that connects your experiences—for example, learning to turn practical questions into decisions. Use it only if it fits your actual story.
- **Use scenes and choices.** Show a place, an observation, a decision and what changed. Replace “I am hardworking” with an example that lets the reader see it.
- **Make your contribution clear.** Distinguish your own work, shared work, supplied drawings, tool assistance and future plans. Give collaborators credit.
- **Reflect after describing.** After an event, ask: why did this matter, what did I learn, and what do I do differently now?
- **Keep your own voice.** Start with the words you would use when explaining the experience to a friend. Read the draft aloud and remove phrases that do not sound like you.
- **Draft long, edit for readers.** Use 6–8 pages to discover your material. Then keep a short introduction and clear chapter headings on the website; remove repetition and résumé-style lists.

Describe what you observed, what you personally did, who or what helped, and what remains a plan. Keep private customer details out.

When ready, select the sections you want published and send them in the chat. Browser drafts do not update the shared visitor page.