Your college applications and the accompanying essays serve different but equally important purposes. The application is where you need to impress—the essays are where you need to engage. To help your essays do their job, worry less about what you think the readers want to hear, and more about what you want to say.
Use the application to proudly present your academic, testing, and extracurricular credentials. Then use the essays to help the readers get to know you in ways they couldn’t have from the application alone. Be yourself, tell the truth, and share stories that the people who know you best would say reflect who you really are.