Wondering what Jane Eyre’s college essay might look like? In this creative college essay example, we imagine Jane Eyre from Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre applying to college today. Rather than focusing on grades or achievements, Jane reflects on the person who shaped her life most profoundly—Helen Burns—and the lessons in resilience, forgiveness, and compassion that continue to guide her.
You may wonder why I am introducing you to Helen Burns at the beginning of an essay about me. The simple answer is that I would not even be writing this essay if I had never known Helen Burns.
I met Helen Burns at Lowood, the boarding school I attended during my childhood. When I first went to Lowood, I did not know what loving family life was like, much less what friendship was like. Helen not only taught me about friendship but also about overcoming life’s personal difficulties.
I admired Helen because she was several years older than me and had a quiet, unruffled spirit that I envied. Helen was better at everything, having a natural intelligence that set her far above me. She would smile if I did not understand something the first time and would soften her voice to a patient pitch as she explained what I did not understand. I was awed by the contrast between her patience and my teachers’ angry explosions. These first lessons Helen taught me about kind patience towards a frightened child will always remain deeply embedded in my heart.
Every morning, she would get up with the rest of us girls before dawn, wash her sallow face, and pin back her hair with a ribbon, talking the whole time about the wonderful things we would learn that day. Nervous anticipation burned me inwardly, but I trusted her and walked into the foreboding class days, assured that she was right. Slowly, she was teaching me the simplest kind of courage—getting up and facing every day as a new gift to be cherished and a new obstacle to be overcome.
And Helen’s own courage had to be great because Miss Scatcherd, our headmistress, decided to dislike her. Once, I remember that Miss Scatcherd thought Helen’s belongings were not organized properly. Scatcherd lectured long and loudly before she made Helen stand in the middle of a classroom, her skin still smarting from Miss Scatcherd’s birch whips.
When I sneaked into the classroom to speak to her, Helen only shook her head sadly at my angry words. She explained how she deserved the punishment and how she could improve. At the time, I did not understand that Helen was teaching me forgiveness and resilience. She was teaching me how to get along with the most difficult people and how to not only endure their harshness but how to also learn from it.
One night, however, Helen’s lessons for me stopped forever. She died from tuberculosis, sleeping beside me in a little bed we shared. When I woke to this realization, my shock was too deep for words. I was left alone in that horrible school with no Helen Burns to guide and support me. But, to my surprise, I survived Lowood for another eight years.
“How?” I ask myself. Because–even though Helen Burns herself was not there to guide me–her important lessons were. Without noticing, I had taken on her perseverance, quiet endurance, submission, and forgiveness. I realized that by finishing my education at Lowood, I had proven to both myself and Helen that even cruel circumstances cannot hold me back if I always look for opportunities to grow from them.
Helen’s lessons moved me to want to teach. I understand—maybe better than many teachers—the vulnerability and fear a child can face away from parental love. I want to create flourishing classrooms that encourage children to improve and to be disciplined, forgiving, and curious.
Most importantly, I will forever be grateful to Helen Burns. And because of that gratitude, I believe it is my turn to give to others what she gave to me, building better and brighter minds that are prepared for the future.
About the author
Alaina Suttles is a senior at Pensacola Christian College, where she is studying for a bachelor’s degree in professional writing. When she was still in high school, Alaina discovered Write the World and fell in love with its welcoming community. She won runner-up for a Write the World fantasy competition and later won first place for her college’s creative fiction competition. As a young writer, Alaina was grateful to discover Write the World’s community of fellow writers, where she could share her work and experience constructive and kind criticism that helped her grow her writing skills. Now, as a summer intern, she hopes to build that same confidence in other young writers and to encourage them to put their talents to the best use.
With Write the World’s College Essay Review, you’ll have a college essay editor on your side – anytime, anywhere. Submit drafts to our team of Advisors for review, and receive fully personalized, multi-page reports within 48 hours.
