My family life has been a huge obstacle in me achieving my goals, and it’s the opposite of an environment when I can thrive. I’ve always been treated as “not worthy” and a laughing stock, even to my own parents. It’s hard for me to do well in school with a family life that tears me down every day.
I’m afraid if I mention this in essays, the information won’t be pertinent enough to admissions officers. They want to know how the experience shaped you, but it didn’t really shape me. It just taught me that I have to leave as soon as possible. It did affect my academics negatively, but I feel like if I mention that, it’ll seem like I’m blaming my parents or playing the victim card.
Should I even mention it at all?
If you feel like you can write about it well, then why not? However, instead of saying it taught you nothing, why don’t you say that it has taught you to believe in yourself and not be affected by the opinions of others? The fact that you aren’t blaming yourself shows that you are resilient and that you know you should believe in yourself, even if your parents don’t. And maybe it would be better to leave out the part about your academics completely
Within the oscar-nominated film, Whiplash, J. K. Simmons’ character responds to assertions that his methods of instruction are too rough by uttering “there are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job.’” In your case, you deal with parents eager to unduly reprimand you. In your case, you feel as if you’ve been academically undermined. In your case, however, you may be missing the point. Through a childhood of maltreatment, you’ve been molded by a concept that takes most people their entire lives to comprehend: humility. Unfortunately, life isn’t a garden of happy thoughts in which we can lock hands and congratulate each other for simply waking up this morning. If you want success, you must persevere, and that’s the exact mentality you’ve been force fed from a young age. Yet, despite their unpleasant nature, your parents have familiarized you with the notion that life is a monstrous thunderstorm eager to exact reality on those expecting clear skies. Without their abuse, you would have never grasped the damaging face of the words “good job.”
Not saying I actually agree with the above passage, but that’s the spin I’d take on it for entrance essays.