I have one essay left to write for the UW-madison application, which is something in your life that goes unnoticed. This has stumped me for a while, and what I’ve come up with is something that goes unnoticed is how unexpected the future can be. I want to talk about instances where I thought I knew what to expect, but afterwards I realized how totally wrong I was about something, for example my job at the grocery store. Basically I’m saying people don’t expect the unexpected. Would this work?
Yes I do understand that but at least I am not putting my whole essay out there. I just wanted to know if this idea is applicable to the prompt or not.
Is your essay going any further than “we can’t expect the unexpected?” I would make sure that you talk about how you, as an individual, respond to situations like that or what you’ve learned from those experiences and how that’s going to shape your actions going forward. Always go a step further and think about how your topic might reveal some notable/interesting part of your personality.
Oh don’t worry about putting your idea out there! What are the chances that someone else will pick up your topic?? Seriously. Besides, only you have your voice and 80% of writing–maybe more–is voice.
My main concern about your topic at least as it’s described is not very specific. I suspect that it will be specific as you write it, but I want to emphasize that what makes this topic your own are the specifics (and your voice).
Building on @silmaril 's suggestion, definitely show how you changed and grew because of the experience. You may want to tell this as a story and tell the story in images. Think of each sentences as a sort of moving photograph. "I was restocking cans of peas in an end-of-aisle display one evening. The glass door of the grocery store whooshed open. A man rushed in. Instead of sandals and shorts like I expected in Florida, a thick parka disguised his body and a ski mask covered his face . . . "
That’s showing what happened in images. Telling would be “I worked at a grocery restocking peas. One evening while working late, I looked up and watched a man come in. I thought that he might rob me because he was wearing a parka and a ski mask.”
Most people find it more engaging to read stories shown in images.