Help, I come off as arrogant

College Essays
1

tl;dr: My life has been a story of facing adversity, it haunting me and crying myself to sleep over it, and then systematically destroying it. How do I turn this into an essay without sounding extremely conceited?

Hey Guys, I’m faced with a strange problem. I’ve been writing so many essays but still can’t find one that really works.

In middle school, I moved to a country in Europe, not having any exposure to the language, was dropped into public school there, and learned the language fluently in a few months. I used tp be super skinny, but put on 16 lbs of muscle over a summer (~30 over a year). I used to have crippling social anxiety, and I destroyed it completely. I started swimming for my school my freshman year, and have made massive strides since.

I always try to challenge myself, believe there are never any excuses, and believe every single person can achieve whatever their definition of greatness is, if they just put their mind to it.

Would it be best to write an essay about a time in which I couldn’t do anything, no matter how hard I tried? Should I write about how I try to instill the same spirit in community service with elementary schoolers I do each weekend?

The problem with the two above, is that I’d have to talk about my accomplishments to explain the topic well, which would once again come off as bragging.

I’m considering skipping it completely, but I feel as if any other essay I write would not be genuine, as this constant struggle has defined me so clearly.

2

I asked the question at a college fair, “how do you write about your accomplishments without seeming like an arrogant jerk?” The answer was - speak about yourself, not how you compare to others. Don’t say “I’m better than everybody else.” Say, “I’ve become good at this and here’s why and this is what it says about me.”

3

If you pick one of those things and describe scenario, i.e., dropped into public school, prob scared witless. But you stick with it, worked hard, learned the language and you remember that while working with kids now and can relate to their fears.

Focus on how you got there, not the accomplishment. Don’t pick more than one bc then it may be Bragg-y.

4

HRSMom, thats a really good idea. I just need to make sure I don’t come across as privileged.