I am looking to study history in college because of my interest in the complexities and contradictions of history. One idea I had to highlight this is in my essay was to document an instance in my life I realize some of my family members might be racist (and my ancestors that definitely were). I live in Chicago now, but my dad is from the south. I have ancestors that fought for the confederacy in the civil war. I want to use this anecdote to aid my coming of age narrative in which I discover the world is much more complex than I could ever imagine, and how this period of realization has led to my interest in history and working to make society more inclusive. Is it taboo to talk about this in an college essay? Will it make me look stupid as a person of privilege trying to make a commentary on discrimination that I don’t personally face? I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to act “woke”. I’m really passionate about embracing diversity and combatting racism but I don’t know if this is the route to go on a college essay.
Hmm…This essay isn’t a bad idea, but the execution will make or break this essay. It’s going to be tricky, and the tone could easily be messed up, but if you are successful, it’ll be really cool.
I’m just saying that there won’t be much middle ground. It’ll be really good or completely fall flat.
I think it’s a lot to bite off successfully in just 650 words.
It’s a good idea but hard to pull off. Remember the essay can’t just be about your relatives and ancestors, it has to focus about what you learned and how, and how it informs your wish to study history.
I think it seems contrived.
Thanks all for your help. I decided to head in a safer direction anyway.