<p>I have been on varsity track and cross country for 3 years and would really like to write about that for the 2nd uc prompt.
But I’m stuck b/w these two topics (though very similar) </p>
<li><p>A track race that i miraculously won during my junior year. </p></li>
<li><p>A 10 mile run with the varsity team up in mammoth. It was absolute hell but i felt very accomplished at the end. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I kind of like my second topic better, but I can make my track race essay more fast paced and thus catchier. Please give me advice on which to do?</p>
<p>I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but both sound horribly cliched. However, its what YOU do with each that will make the essay what it is. Which topic can you write about that shows YOUR unique personality/ideals/thoughts etc?</p>
<p>I was afraid they would seem cliche, but those events really meant a lot to me. Are most of you guys picking really unique topics to avoid being cliche and thus boring?</p>
<p>The worry with writing about "the big game" or "big race" in your case, is that the only thing we'll learn about you is that you were the little engine that could. The goal of the essay, besides displaying your incredible talents as a writer, must be to allow the reader to arrive at a number of adjectives to describe you. If they can't come up with anything besides: hard-working, never gives up, etc. then this isn't really serving you very well. Do you have a list of qualities not obvious from your transcrips and test scores that you'd like to communicate to admissions? Your essay needs to show these things about you. If you can get there in the "big race" story, great, but if not, pick a different, more revealing story.</p>