<p>My native language is an Indian language spoken by less than a 1000 people in the USA and 310,000 people worldwide.</p>
<p>Can this benefit my even a little bit?</p>
<p>Wouldn’t that make it a fairly useless thing? Why do you think it could be a benefit?</p>
<p>would it be a good topic to write about in an essay?
it makes me unique</p>
<p>I don’t think that really qualifies as a “hook” if no one is aware of the language.</p>
<p>Being bi-lingual and bi-cultural is ALWAYS an advantage - in college applications and in life generally. It means you have the ability to see both cultures both as an insider and an outsider. It doesn’t matter what language it is - the important thing is having a unique perspective on two different cultures. I would certainly write about this, because it’s an important part of who you are and differentiates you from the many who do not have the benefit of this rich perspective.</p>
<p>Though top American colleges are overrun with Indian candidates and read tens of thousands of essays about Indian culture. Indian instruments and dance have become as cliche as soccer and MUN!</p>
<p>That’s why the essay isn’t about being Indian or about Indian dance and music. It’s about the advantages of biculturalism. Someone who has had to mediate between two cultures understands the challenges that the many immigrants and children of immigrants to this country face. It’s about meeting expectations of parents who grew up elsewhere and who don’t understand the environment you are growing up in because they didn’t experience it themselves. It’s about learning not to feel embarrassed because your family is visibly, obviously different from the families of your friends. It is explaining your religious beliefs and values, as different from but not less deserving of respect - and the fact that you are Indian does not mean you face no discrimination. It’s about spending vacations in your parents’ country of birth and discovering that you don’t fit in there either and that just because you look Indian doesn’t mean your share their frame of reference, even though that’s expected of you. There is so much here that I won’t go on, but have no fear that it can make an interesting essay, as long as you steer clear of the music and dance cliches.</p>