@hhjjlala I understand where you’re coming from, and I completely agree with your points. I guess I should have made it a little more clear how I was gonna approach the topic in my essay. I wasn’t really going for the “sob story” at all and I’m definitely not going to imply in any way that eczema has pushed me to succeed academically, because I agree with you- that sounds (and is) unrealistic. From what I’ve learned from my college counselor, books etc, a successful college essay talks about something inherently important to a students life, whether it be mundane or unique, and how it has affected, shaped, or changed a student’s character or view of life. To many people, eczema might only be worth talking about in a “sob story”, but for me, I’ve really learned a lot from dealing with eczema. I’m not going to go in detail about everything here, but basically, my years struggling with eczema has changed my views on myself, and also science. I know it’s not the most unique/interesting topic, but it’s the best that I can come up with so far.