I am not interested in anything less. Alibis, justifications, excuses for work willfully not done carry no weight and are better left unsaid. I do not want any one to embarrass herself or himself by exaggerating the quality and quantity of work done, nor do I wish any one to denigrate herself or himself by downplaying the real quality of one's effort and work done. At the very least the self-evaluation essay can be an opportunity to learn more about how one does and does not learn well and enjoyably and what one is willing to risk in the learning process, or whether one is willing to take risks at all, and if one is willing to help others learn as one learns herself or himself, or not, or if one will be mindful enough to work well with others, or is willing to let others do more so one will do less. It itself is part of the learning process by thinking about the learning process in the study.
Life is too brief for minimalism and the awful specter of mediocrity of mind, heart, and spirit.
Let the Tao Te Ching paradox you into realizing that real thinking is more than just saying whatever comes to mind, or having an opinion about anything. But perhaps doing everything one can to avoid real thinking, in the long run, is more dangerous to one's self and quality of living. Our authors give us hints and guidance for such thinking, but they can not, will not and should not do it for us, even if they could. Giving you answers would be doing you no favor. Giving you seeds for questions would be respecting you so much more and allowing you to seek the vision of wisdom at a much deeper level because you have to get your hands dirty and scratched and calloused in the process.