<p>I have 2 dogs. One is really skinny (incredibly anorexic) and the other is really fat (has a serious problem there...) and it is definitely as tough to take care of both of them as it is to be president of some stupid clubs. And, if you think about it, the only reason colleges want ECs is to know that you do something other than study all day to get your good grades (like dumb people do). So, would it look pompous to write that as an EC on my application?</p>
<p>how about writing about ur pets for the essay...</p>
<p>Nah, it would be a dumb essay. I am going to write my essay about the time my leg got caught under a boulder and I had to cut it off with a sharp rock I found near me.</p>
<p>u had to cut ur LEG OFF??? o my god</p>
<p>but uh.. what did u learn from that? how did it change ur life? do u work with veterans now? disabled kids? or do u live ur life the same way as before.. cuz then it seems to me liek it woudl be a pretty lame essay</p>
<p>If you can't see how being stuck in a forest for 4 days without food with your leg caught under a boulder, with the only source of water being a muddy puddle near you, and then eventually having to spend hours cutting off your own leg with a sharp rock, and finally being rescued before you bled to death could change your life, there is something seriously wrong with you.</p>
<p>^^^^ seriously tottally agree</p>
<p>I think the dog essay would be great.</p>
<p>Your title is a little misleading but from what you describe it sounds like a great essay regarding overcome obstacles or adversity.</p>
<p>to the OP::
dont be snide!!! i wasnt questioning the trauma of being stuff... i admire u for having done everything humanly within ur power to free yourself... I can't even imagine how i would have reacted to the same situation myself.</p>
<p>It just sounded to me liek that was going to be ur essay to play the sympathy card.. and i was tryign to look out for u! i dotn think a sympathy card essay, even such a complellign one, would work. I was tryign to help you refine your essay now, so that you could get into all of your top college choices!!</p>
<p>And part of me still thinks that an essay about ur dogs could be just as good, if not better</p>
<p>but next time... PLEASE dont assume that im insensitve- cuz that hurts. try giving people the benefit of the doubt... </p>
<p>I only found it it was a four day ordeal 35 seconds ago, and so how can u assume that i'd know that??</p>
<p>No, taking care of your pets isn't considered an EC.</p>
<p>Now, if you are raising livestock or show animals or training animals for the deaf or blind, those are the kind of time-consuming things that would count as ECs.</p>
<p>Otherwise, most people have pets that take their time. Just as doing normal household chores isn't considered an EC neither is taking care of pets.</p>
<p>Basically, my essay is going to be about how I realized what was important in my life after that happened. It is rare for many college applicants to have stared death in the face as I have.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, i looked for news articles of people self-amputating their limbs while trapped under rocks (being as an event such as this would not only be newsworthy but also completely badass), but could only find articles of people who're way over your age. The closest that I found to you was Aron Ralston (27), who cut off his arm with a pocket-knife after getting trapped under a boulder while mountain-climbing. No articles about kids amputating any legs with sharp stones.</p>
<p>Something tells me that this is a bit false.</p>
<p>"And part of me still thinks that an essay about ur dogs could be just as good, if not better"</p>
<p>Hmm...an essay about a dog...vs. an essay about survival against all odds??</p>
<p>What to choose...</p>
<p>"I only found it it was a four day ordeal 35 seconds ago, and so how can u assume that i'd know that??"</p>
<p>What's the difference??? So cutting his leg off in a single day vs. 4 makes the situation better and not worthy of attention??</p>
<p>Wow...</p>
<p>What about putting on my clothes in the morning? Is that an EC? I figure I'm doing the entire community a service by not walking outside in my birthday suit. So this would go under "community service?"</p>
<p>fhqwgads2005, did that really happen, cutting off your leg? If so, that would be a great essay topic.</p>
<p>Oh, another question. What about like, home improvement stuff? Like, building a part of your house, or building a bunch of stuff over the years? Even if it is not continuous, just scattered work, would that be considered an EC?</p>
<p>You could write an essay about your dog(s) if you could pull it off. I wrote an essay about my pet fish, so anything is possible.</p>
<p>Fhqwgads2005, why don't you just join a club? Or get a job?</p>
<p>Clubs are limited at my school, and starting them is against the rules unless a teacher really backs you (which they don't) and I do have a job.</p>
<p>if you really had to cut off your own leg....that is wow. that is an experience that is quite unbelievable in its own MESSED UP WAY. but definitely write about that because it takes so much self control and just power to be able to put up with cutting off your own leg..it just goes against basic human nature. that would be a great essay if you did it right, even though it is a weird topic</p>