Powered by students, published by Ojai Valley News May 29, 2026
650 Words or Less: How Students Shape Themselves for College
Keeping Ojai Authentic: Inside Papa Lennon’s Written By Mayla Embry, 11th Grade
Written By Rumi Way, 12th Grade “At 3, before I could even spell my name, I learned to refuse it: the start of everything that made me, me. My world, then, was built entirely by a woman—the one who dressed me, fed me, and braided my hair. My mom, a lover of poetry, named her first daughter, me, after Rumi. When the devastating news that I was named after a man was first laid bare to me, I was beside myself. I couldn’t understand why my mom, a single, hardworking feminist, chose a man’s name for me. My father’s absence had already corrupted my view of men; carrying one’s name would only deepen that wound.” That is how my college essay
begins, after ten abandoned ideas and nearly thirty drafts, each one trying and failing to sound like me. The college essay, capped at 650 words, asks students to compress years of memory, identity, and contradiction into something readable and compelling. It is framed as self expression. In practice, it often becomes an exercise in self presentation. I learned that quickly. After weeks of circling different versions of myself, I chose a topic that felt sustainable, something I could return to without losing my voice. Even then, the pressure did not disappear. It sharpened. Every sentence felt like a decision
about who I was allowed to be on paper. I was not the only one making those decisions. Each year, about 1.5 million first-year students apply to colleges across the United States, submitting more than 10 million applications through platforms like the Common Application. On average, that is nearly seven applications per student, seven attempts at telling the same story in slightly different ways, hoping that somewhere, it will land. For some, that story comes early. Justin Ayala, a senior at the Thacher School in Ojai, said he knew his topic from the beginning.
“From the start, I knew I was going to write about using astronomy as a tool for community building,” Ayala said. “That moment made me seriously reconsider what role I wanted to have in the world and how I could get there.” His interest in space started when he was young. “As a kid, nothing captured me the way space did. I dreamed of someday telling the story of the time I stepped on the moon. Now that would be a great story! Then the summer after sophomore year, I began to dream of building the ultimate escape method, a telescope, and I managed to convince the school to fund this endeavor.”
(Photo Credit: Mayla Embry) Sidewalk view of Papa Lennon’s showing off their iconic sign.
From plastic lobsters, hand-painted signs, and live music, Papa Lennon’s is a local favorite—fostering our small-town amidst its many changes. Read on C2
How I Upcycled a Broken Tent Written By Lola Clemens, 11th Grade
(Photo Credit: Lola Clemens) Lola shows off her finsished jacket made from a broken tent fly.
My sewing experiments did more than find a new use for damaged outdoor gear. It opened my mind to a possible future career path. Read on C4
A Forest of Hands: Ojai’s Path to Change Ojai Valley School seniors showing off their college merch on May 1. Even with a clear idea, the process was still difficult. “I was very frustrated with this essay for most of its existence,” Ayala said. “I wasn’t sure what the moment said about me or how to capture that. I kept writing drafts and then deleting them.” It was not until he stepped away that the essay began to take shape. “After taking a break, it came together a lot more naturally,” he said. “That time away was so valuable.” In the end, his approach shifted. The essay became less about telling a large, impressive story and more about his personal re-
sponse to a single moment. “I am definitely happy with how it turned out,” he said. “In the beginning, I expected to tell a grandiose story with great insight into the world, but I’m glad I took a step back and focused more on my reaction to the moment. The essay is much better for it.” Other students turn inward. One high school senior, Val Edelson from Villanova Prep, wrote about self confidence in the age of social media. “Social media took my selfworth on a rollercoaster with high drops and fast loops. If my post performed well and received enough likes, the view
was beautiful, and my adrenaline was high. When they underperformed, my confidence plummeted, and I began to spiral. My friend showed me photos of my recent post sent in group chats with responses like ‘chicken legs’ and ‘stick figure.’ The comments and compliments on my body became addictive, and I started to believe that if I wasn’t small, I wasn’t special.” Placed side by side, these essays do not resemble each other. One looks outward toward telescopes and possibility. Another turns inward toward perception and validation. Mine begins with a name I once rejected.
(Photo Credit: Misty Hall)
But that difference is the point. Across interviews and drafts, a pattern emerges. Students are making choices about what to reveal, what to leave out, and how to frame their lives for an audience they will never meet. For many, the process is less about finding the perfect story and more about deciding which version of it to tell. By the time applications are submitted, the essays are finished, but the questions behind them are not. They follow students beyond the word limit, beyond submission portals, and into whatever comes next.
Written By Aiden Kehoe, 11th grade
(Photo Credit: Celeste Ayala) An overview of OVLC nursery.
The world is dominated by screens, constant alerts, and a growing disconnect between people and the natural world—but through the chaos, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is reconnecting our community to the land and inspiring action for a better world. Read on C3
From Small Stages to Big Dreams: Ojai’s Performing Arts Community Written By Wren Zimmerman, 10th Grade
(Photo Credit: Anthony Avildsen) Nordhoff ’s production of “Grease” at a dress rehearsal.
The Thacher School seniors showing of their college merch.
(Photo Credit: Czarina Hutchins)
The applause roared again, filling the room the same way it has many times before, and in that moment yet another young actor had a vision of their future. Read on C4