Essay topic for a boring person?

College Essays
1

<p>Hey everyone. I'm not a very interesting person. I'm white, middle-class, and I haven't had any major epiphanies that define who I am (and I'm not creative enough to make one up.) This is all well and good, nothing wrong with being average, but I'm having such a hard time coming up with an essay topic!</p>

<p>The major "hook" that I have is that I'm spending my senior year in Ukraine. I've always just assumed I'd write about that, and maybe I'll write it FROM Ukraine ("An American in Kiev" - I can see it now), but maybe colleges will think the main idea of this essay is boring?</p>

<p>Basically, I'd be saying how reading Crime and Punishment my sophomore year made me become obsessed with all things 19th century Russian and then I wanted to learn how to read the great works of Russian literature in Russian, so I applied to go abroad and then "here I am - I can hear my host mother arguing in Ukrainian downstars..." etc etc.</p>

<p>I'm applying to NYU CAS early decision, as a Russian + English/comparative lit. double major, and I'm worried that this topic isn't 'edgy' enough for them.</p>

<p>Alternatives? The problem with my boringness is I really don't have many alternatives. I could talk about...working on an apple orchard? bouts with depression? my mom's bouts with depression? ...my love of cats???</p>

<p>Any advice on what to write about is greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>The topic doesn’t matter. What you do with a topic is what matters.</p>

<p>Therefore, choose the topic that allows you to write your most personal, detailed and revealing essay. The essay that is so you that only you could write it.</p>

<p>There is good advice at [Essays</a>, Admission Information, Undergraduate Admission, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html]Essays”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html)</p>

3

<p>Your topic sounds interesting, and you don’t seem to be a boring person. Anyone who decides to spend their senior year outside of their home country is interesting by default. Deciding to spend your senior year in the Ukraine for the reason that you mentioned is very interesting.</p>

<p>You don’t need an edgy topic, just one like this that reflects who you are.</p>

4

<p>I agree, that could definitely be a good topic if you write about it well.</p>

<p>Ultimately, though, it’s not the topic. There was a Best Essays book I read in which a girl described her hands–and it was a fantastic essay.</p>

5

<p>write about exprience that changed you or that you learned from.</p>

6

<p>Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I wrote a rough draft of this for my AP English class and I guess I’ll see what the teacher says (the same teacher who’s writing my rec, a really nice woman).</p>

<p>But leolibby, that’s about the most nonspecific advice I’ve ever seen haha :p</p>

7

<p>Update:</p>

<p>Apparently, because of the political climate in Ukraine and the weak Rotary organization there, I’m not going anymore. Instead, I’m going to Poland. I guess my essay topic about Russian lit doesn’t really work haha</p>

8

<p>If you have any unique experience abroad, you can always use that as fuel to write an interesting narrative essay. Just be yourself. It will be a whole lot easier to write if you are just being who you really are than trying to write as someone you are not. You can always put in that little tidbit of how your overseas location changed and what new experiences you’ve faced by traveling somewhere else.</p>