<p>Help me out picking a good topic. I could probably write a decent essay on any one of these. </p>
<p>1) teaching my 80 year old neighbor how to rubiks cube</p>
<p>2) I love math and teaching a lot. So I could write about this one really amazing math teacher I had - who basically caused me to love math. She really brougth forth an epiphany in me of the beauty and interconnectedness of all math... i know that sounds corny.</p>
<p>3) how I sprint a quarter of a mile to the bus everyday morning and barely make it rather than waking up five minutes earlier. </p>
<p>4) teaching different students at the library on weekends. </p>
<p>5) how i like playing tennis and the sport as a whole, even though im not an excessively good player. How serving and smacking the ball down or hitting nice shots is basically orgasmic and worth all the hours of practice.</p>
<p>I’d recommend writing from prompt #2. Even in the few sentences you described it in, I get a sense that math is your passion and I get a sense for who you are. That’s a good thing to get out of an essay topic. Just make sure that you focus most of the essay on yourself and the changes she brought to you.</p>
<p>I think 1 could be a very cute essay that you could really use to show what kind of person you are. I also really like the sound of 3, you could make it really unique. Maybe talk about how that’s the one spot in your life you slack in (getting to the bus on time) because you really appreciate a good night’s sleep, but in other aspects of your life you’re more organized… I don’t know, something along those lines. You’d just have to make sure you don’t come across as lazy, but human and unique. 4 and 5 sound absolutely dull and honestly, kind of dreadful. I’d much rather read about someone nearly missing their bus than “Oh I am so smart I teach all these kids” or “And that’s why this sport makes me feel alive.” Not saying that’s how yours would turn out, but essays of those topics always tend to turn out veeeery similar and they blend together, becoming very boring. 2 could also be an interesting topic, but you’d have to make sure it stands out because that’s a common-ish topic.</p>
<p>I like number 1. It’s not something where the adcomm will groan “oh god another essay about THIS!” and if you do it right, it could really provide insight into who you are and what you value.</p>
<p>No. I know of a guy who wrote about teaching his elderly neighbor how to use computers (she passed, sadly, which I guess makes it a bit different from yours). Guy got in everywhere- Harvard, Princeton, you name it.</p>