The personal essay

# {{TITLE — short, specific, a little unexpected}}

{{HOOK — one or two sentences that promise a specific payoff. Make the
reader feel they'll be a fool to scroll past.}}

## The scene

{{Set the moment. Where were you? What did it feel like? Use senses, not
adjectives. The reader should be standing where you stood.}}

## The turn

{{Something shifted. A realization, a setback, a sentence someone said. Name
it clearly. This is the spine of the essay.}}

## What I learned

{{The lesson, in one paragraph, in language a friend would use. Avoid words
you'd only say at a conference.}}

## What it means for you

{{Translate the lesson for the reader's life. One concrete thing they can
think about, do, or stop doing this week.}}

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If this resonated, the best thing you can do is forward it to one person
who needs it.

— {{YOUR_NAME}}