<p>Hey!! Okay so for the freshman prompt it essentially asks you to define your family/home/community life and how that has impacted and affected you. Well, my mom attempted suicide right in front of me and it really did change me as a person- for awhile negatively- but now I like to look at it as a real positive impact on my character because of the bond my father and I formed and it indirectly made me a huge advocate for feminism etc etc. However, I don't wanna make the adcom think that I'm trying to make them feel bad for me, I just genuinely think this is something that needs to be put in there because I don't know where I would be right now if it hadn't happened. In the other essay I plan to make it a little bit more happy though with talking about my achievements in horseback riding if that makes any difference. Basically what I'm asking is, if you had to read 1000s of glorified sob stores for personal statements, would mine just fit in right there with them and if so how do I avoid that?</p>
This is a topic that really should be discussed more often. The sob story admissions essays are hard to read. They can be heart-wrenching and when you’re going through hundreds of them, I can only imagine how depressing that might be.
If it is really a turning point in your life, then write about it. Don’t sugar coat it, don’t let them think you are playing the sympathy card. Suicide is something our society should talk about more, but doesn’t because of stigma. Always write to your strengths and it will show in your essay.
If you can think of anything else, I would consider it. My essay about community life was about how educational resources were unfairly distributed and what we did to make it right. It could have been a sob story, but I made it about empowerment and self-determination.
I agree with jeremyj, but also be mindful of the fact that you’re not only writing about your own life, but your mother’s as well. And specifically the private, vulnerable parts of her life that she might rather keep to herself.
Ultimately, it’s worth writing up a draft and seeing if it does come across as a sob story, or if it can be executed well.
In all fairness, a very limited number of people are going to read these essays so I wouldn’t be too concerned about privacy. I hope your mom found some help and if you do choose to write about it I would find a way to work that in there, so it has a happy ending (?), for lack of a better phrase.
But yeah, give it a try and I’ll read it if you’d like and give you my honest feedback.