Hi, so I can’t think about any amazing ideas for a college essay, but I decided to just try to look into parts of my life where I don’t realize affects me, so I thought about maybe writing about my sleepless nights.
My parents always scold me for staying up too late when I was younger but I deal with the trouble of not being able to sleep every night. Although I’m not 100% positive if I am dealing with insomnia or I am just a night owl, I always feel like a different person at night time. I thought that maybe I could talk about how during the day it’s always busy and full of distractions that I can’t think for myself and about my own thoughts, and how every night whenever I struggle to sleep I take that time to isolate myself and just let new, deep & creative thoughts that express my curiosity. I thought I could mention how it’s the only time of night I realize what issues I am concerned about and deal with deep down but always avoided because of the busywork and distractions that dominated my thoughts during the day.
Another one I thought about was the vehicles my family owns (10 cars + a boat) and the memories and experiences I associate with each one since we gradually got these cars over the years of growing up. I thought that I could sum up the cars to have reminded me of basic experiences of either pain/bullying, death, friendship, family bondings or family breakdowns, letting go, etc. Then the last car, the one that I’ve been given, would be one I associate with my own freedom and being to control my life from a driver’s perspective after learning how to cope with everything in the “passengers” seat.
What do you think of either one? Could they work? If both of these ideas sound bad then thank you for your opinion, I am just trying to come up with ideas and your advice would be truly helpful
i like both i think the nighttime one might say more about you than cars although the cars is more unique…if u honestly do have memories associated with each don’t force it. also, if you go with cars, try not to sound boastful about the number- you don’t right now but just a caution not to do so in your actual essay either
The number of cars could be seen as flaunting even if you tried hard not to make it seem like it. I would choose the night owl essay.
Here are some tips I would give myself if I was writing it.
Start off by giving the situation in detail with an ominous effect. Avoid the insomnia because that could make it seem like you are staying up by force and not choice. This would attack the entire purpose of the essay.
I would contrast day-time you and night-time you. Add anecdotes and try to lift the ominous effect.
End with just talking about the night-time you and no ominous effect at all, just pure, genuine curiosity.
I think both ideas are fabulous. They are unique and present a way to talk about yourself through something a bit unconventional. . For the car idea, perhaps you can structure it as cars your family owned at different phases in your life, vs owning all 10 at once. And maybe don’t use all10, just a few can do the trick. I read an essay, it may have been on the JHU website as an example of a good essay, where the writer talked about the shelves of her bookcase and what each represented in her life. Your car idea reminds me of that.
I think both have potential depending an how you write it. For night tine one you can write about how I have a “weakness” insomnia, but how has it affected you in good and bad ways, and how will you manage it or still be a creative person during the day, make some sort of point and turn the negative into positive. If you choose to do the cars theme, relate the memories to how they have affected you and shaped you into the person you are or sone sort of lesson. Also, you can mention that your family is passion about cars and have been lucky enough to have so many. It is a part of your identity, and not a bad thing to talk about, but mention only the ones that stick out. PM me if you need any further advice or assistance
