<p>I'm planning on writing the first common app question about how your story is so central to who you are </p>
<p>My ideas are
- How my dad was an alcoholic/drug addict and went to rehab when i was 11 and how that has affected me and allowed me to grow to who i am now (is this too self pitty)
- The dreams i've and experiences i've had as a child that are unique to myself and how they add to my character
-My experience volunteering at a nature center and how much I have loved it</p>
<p>Every time I go to write my essay I have writers block and I don't know where to start. I need someone opinion on where to lead this essay. I want it to be unique to myself and show who I really am and how hard I've worked over the years for this moment of my life.</p>
<p>Just start some free form writing or stream of consciousness and get some thoughts down on paper. It doesn’t matter where you start for a draft. Because you will shape the essay later through rewrite. Maybe you will write the ‘meat’ of it, then develop an intro short paragraph later. Maybe the first paragraph you write will just get the juices going and then you eliminate that later because it isn’t needed and the 2nd paragraph turns into the real first one (this is usually how I write).</p>
<p>The point is, you have to get some thoughts on paper and develop your thoughts through the writings. You don’t write stuff in your head and then it all comes out beautifully. Think of it as a process with many steps.</p>
<p>Notes: your experience with a nature center isn’t really the ‘world you come from’ If you want to write about that, pick another prompt, OR find a way to work it into your greater story. I also wouldn’t focus entirely of dreams of a child-- you need to tie it into who your are now and what your dreams are now.</p>