<p>Would it be okay, you think, to do #2: "describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?" about my 4 years in marching band?</p>
<p>Or is that too generic?</p>
<p>Yes, that is completely fine. The best advice I can give anyone is to write about a topic that is meaningful. That way, you can write the best possible essay. Assuming that you really care for your marching band experience, I don’t see any reason as to why you shouldn’t do that…</p>
<p>I feel like a lot of people do that, though.</p>
<p>You don’t have to focus on coming up with a topic that is new, different, or original. Admissions officers have read hundreds of thousands of essays, and I’m sure they’ve read every “unique” hook under the sun. They want to know who you are as a person. What do you value? How do you interact with or perceive the world around you? Your essay on marching band should be a totally different essay from someone else’s on marching band because you’re writing it as YOU, an individual. Try reading your essay out loud, and at the end of it, if it sounds natural to you, you’re on the right track!</p>
<p>This can’t be reiterated enough. You don’t need to be UNIQUE you need to be AUTHENTIC. Yes, there are some cliches and some TMI topics that circulate as “essay no-no’s” but marching band is neither of those. Tell them about you, in your own words and ideas. Don’t try to imagine what they want to hear - instead tell them what makes band meaningful to you, and what it says about who you are as an individual. If you have a funny or sentimental story about band (“This one time, at band camp…”) include that to give your essay “unique” color, but don’t choose a oddball topic that isn’t true to you.</p>
<p>Thank you! That is really good advice. I was wanting to write about it but was worrying it wasn’t good enough.</p>