Am I obligated to include this?

College Essays
1

So I’m in a bit of a rut when it comes to my essays. I have come up with many ideas and started over ten essays but haven’t found one I really feel is right. So a couple of questions -

First, do I really need to find the perfect essay and work very hard on my writing or are the essays not as important as many make them out to be? (I’m already a “good” writer, or so my teachers/counselors tell me.)

I lived in Uzbekistan from 10 weeks after I was born until I was 4 years old and Afghanistan from 2009 to the end of 2013. These years were very impactful on my life (for obvious reasons), I think globally, don’t act “American,” and have learned other lessons I won’t detail here. But these things were four years ago so should I really be writing about them in a college essay for now? I can write some really great essays about moving back to the States and how hard that was etc but that was a while ago so I’m not sure if they would seem irrelevant.
On the other hand, I can’t really ignore this part of my life. This is what really sets me apart from the thousands of other applicants and, as I said, has shaped me into who I am. So I find it very hard not to write about overseas.
Should I/how should I write about this?

Kind of a long, rambling post but I could really use some advice on where to go with this. Thanks for the help.

2

You can write about a situation in which you saw things differently because of your upbringing. That allows you to share how you came to be different but keeps the focus on why being different is meaningful.

3

LIke all of us, you’re constantly evolving. I think you can trace the 17 year old you to the people you were, and the cultures that influenced you, along the way.

You say you don’t “act American.” That could be your essay if you write it well.

4

@gardenstategal @bjkmom Thanks! That was really helpful. I’m thinking I could write something about my idea of fun. I don’t enjoy parties or rollercoasters or movies or tons of things others seem to enjoy and I think some of that is due to my upbringing. I could detail a certain time when I had fun or maybe my ideal day, something like that. Then I could go into why I am different and what I think influenced me in this way. Of course, now I have to flesh this out a lot more.

5

My biggest issue with this is that it might sound like I am making a list of reasons that I am different from other applicants/why they should accept me. Not exactly what I want to go for

6

Write it. Just sit and write it.

Then let it sit for 2 days and go back and read it.

Worst case, you start over.

7

^^ The best thing you could do is just sit down and write it. When I was writing essays I found that I was so preoccupied with trying to write the “perfect” essay that I would end up not writing anything at all. Basically just write it all out don’t worry about word counts or anything just write a rough draft and then from there edit edit edit. Just get something out first.

8

I agree. How these formative years abroad impacted you as an American and a “third culture kid”, making you the person you are today, showing how having that unique person you’ve become would be good for a college, … Woukd be a great essay topic .