<p>And I need to rewrite my common app essay. I thought I had a topic and I thought I had a well-written essay but now IDK, so I’m back to the beginning. </p>
<p>I’ve been through a LOT (eating disorder and depressionboth of which I’ve overcome; my mom is a 3 time cancer survivor; I’ve lost my brother; my uncle was killed by a drunk and high 17 year old driver; and not a bad thing, but I have 5 adopted siblings and 1 bio), but I’m not sure what to write about. I know I could write a great essay about any of those and I could talk about how any of them influenced my life (for example, I’m President of the Students Against Drunk Drivers club because of what happened to my uncle) and how they shaped who I am today. </p>
<p>I don’t know if I should write about the things I listed because they’re heavy topics.</p>
<p>I don’t know. I’ve had to deal with a ton of family crap in my life, especially during HS, but i’ve always felt that using it as an excuse/justification/reason for anything isn’t okay. I won’t even talk about it to people and I act like a lot of it never happened, because that’s what my mom does and she always tells me i’d be better off that way. But that’s just me.</p>
<p>Personally, instead of writing about that, i’m writing about myself. I’m going to write something about some of my interests, who I am, and how the things that I like do make me stand out from my classmates. I’ll throw in a little dash of my inner monologue, and a pinch of sass, and voila, an essay in my own voice.</p>
<p>Although, you could probably write something about it. At least you seem to have pulled a lot of positives out of your experiences, which is amazing. In the end, it’s your essay.</p>
<p>I don’t really talk about it to people who got to know me after I went through all of that stuff (especially the anorexia and severe depression thing. I don’t want people I know to worry about me relapsing.) </p>
<p>I considered going the way you’re going, but I’m kind of boring. I mean, I’m not very creative so I couldn’t turn an essay about my interests into something interesting. I like reading, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my AP psych class last year, and I particularly love reading books like House Rules (something that combines my 2 interests). I just think it’d be a dull essay coming from me. So it seems like what I went through will be the only thing that’ll help me stand out</p>
<p>I’ve debated using my trials and tribulations as an essay topic (2x cancer survivor), but I don’t know. On one hand, it’s really impacted my life and honestly it’s kind of shaped what I want to do after college, but on the other hand I don’t want to come across and whiny or trying to get a “pity” acceptance.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s the big problem. I don’t tell people because I don’t want them to feel bad, what good does that do? At the same time I feel like my problems aren’t as important because someone, somewhere has it far worse.</p>
<p>@Rachel; I’m sure there’s something more interesting about you than that, lol.
My English teacher helped me figure out my topic through a class discussion, we had just finished reading my favorite F. Scott Fitzgerald short story and he asked us what we would put in our multi-million dollar bathroom and I said something like “a sweet hot tub, a cushy reading nook, a huge flatscreen with every console, every retro handheld, and a football field, and i’d pay the NFL to play games in my bathroom.” He brought it up much later and suddenly everything just kinda clicked. I still haven’t figured out how to present it, though.</p>
<p>I think it’s fine to put hard things you went through in your essay as long as it still focuses on you and your growth and not about how sad or crazy it was.</p>
<p>I never liked The Great Gatsby for some reason… I don’t get why it’s a classic</p>
<p>Stressed, that’s what I’ve heard and that’s what I was thinking of doing, but I don’t know. I think I’ll go with that if I can’t think of anything else before October. (First application is due Oct 15th)</p>
<p>If you’re going to write about things you’ve overcome then you should definitely run it past a LOT of people, preferably people who don’t know you, to make sure that nobody misinterprets it as a sob story.</p>
<p>@stressedoutt you don’t like The Great Gatsby how do not like The Great Gatsby lol. Anyways it depend on your reading style though if you like it or not.</p>
<p>@Jazzii:You know, I’ve been considering something like that. My 7-year-old is battling cancer right now. The type he has most likely formed in the womb. That’s the reason why I’m interested in going into pediatric oncology. I want to help kids like him. That could be a good essay.</p>
<p>I’m reading The Beautiful and Damned right now (for fun) and I’m loving the writing. Fitzgerald writes fancy enough to be stylish, but to also fall short of purple prose. The fact that some of the characters are Ivy educated is a plus too, lul.</p>
<p>I got my senior parking pass, senior dues paid, and my senior locker today. I’m really excited for this year. (Except for the fact that I have 430 pages left to read, 130 questions, and 90 more examples to give before next Monday.)</p>
<p>Yeah, stressed, I agree. Stunning writing, but the cult surrounding it is pretty unwarranted. The significance and quality of the story just don’t live up to the hype.
Usually though, there’s a little Fitz-army that rises up to defend Gatsby. I love Fitzgerald, I just don’t find that book especially amazing relative to its rep.</p>
how do not like The Great Gatsby lol. Anyways it depend on your reading style though if you like it or not.</p>