I want to write about my father’s depression. Is that still covered on the three “d’s” not to write about? or is it fair game because it is not my own?
What does that tell them about you as a person? How does it make them want to admit you?
So, the challenge is encapsulated in your question:
But you know that the adcomms want to know about you, not your father, so I am guessing that what you actually mean is that you want to write about the effect that your father’s depression has had on you, and how it explains X about you / your career interests / etc.
It is much harder than it seems to keep the focus on you and not on your father; the more recently you have had to deal with it (esp. if it is still an active issue), the harder it is to have the perspective needed.
I just have a supplement that asks about any hardship. I haven’t gone through anything personally, so I thought this would be a good topic.
I think your father’s depression is a very legitimate topic for a hardship question. I think some of the earlier responses may have been looking at it as a common essay – which needs to be more about you. Dealing with a family member’s depression is definitely a hardship.
By all means write about it if you think that it adds, in a meaningful way, to the package that you are presenting to the AdComms. But don’t write just to write, don’t write just to prove you have had a hardship. It’s a supplement for a reason: a lot of kids had big issues that they wanted the AdComms to know about. Hand on heart: it does not count against you if you don’t do the supplement. Really.