<p>My statement is under the character limit - I wrote about art and my paintings, but I made it less....informative as opposed to story-esque....</p>
<p>...Ah who am I kidding? I wrote it completely story format rather than a short essay/paragraph.</p>
<p>Is this terrible? Should I just go and flat out explain my art? Would they rather something like:</p>
<p>"I never stop running. Everyday, I have track practice, run for hours on my own, and struggle to beat my time. Running's taught me how to think and how to push. I would never give up bla bla bla"</p>
<p>or can I say something closer to:</p>
<p>"I breathed deeply and filled my lungs with oxygen. The brisk November air was inviting my muscles to move a little faster - go the extra mile. bla bla bla"</p>
<p>Obviously neither of those are in my actual statement, but instead are examples...so, yeah, would I penalized for this?</p>
<p>Eh, try to be original. I just typed up my activities statement and really just succinctly explained why that activity was important to me, but I found a balance between the boring matter-of-fact voice and the overly florid gib-jab that is really more fitting for the personal essay/supplement.</p>
<p>Definitely the first version (of the running sample). Don’t worry about making a huge point about how running (or art) has made you a better person. The directions say to elaborate on your activity, not to write a story. You don’t have a lot of room so write it “clean”. If you are passionate/committed to running (or art), just tell them how you are involved in that activity.</p>
<p>My son saved the “story” for his Essay and basically told what his extra curricular taught him about himself. And even though Word said it was under the limit, it kept getting cut off and he kept editing.</p>