Is this a good UC personal statement topic?

Applying to College
1

<p>The prompt:

[quote]
"Tell us about a talent, experience, contribution or personal quality you will bring to the University of California."

[/quote]

Or you can find the prompt here (#2 Potential to Contribute):
<a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html&lt;/a>
Topic
My topic is going to reflect about an experience from a cross-country race. Here are some of my ideas that I might included:
-How I adapted to become better.
-Push myself to no limit.
-Never give up (trite?)
It's going to SHOW, not necessarily tell.</p>

<p><strong>One bad thing I had read from a UC site was that athletic events or "sporting championships" are common topics are are not reccommended unless you really give your essay a unique quality (so that it wouldn't seem common). So, I really don't want to go in to the whole "how I overcame obstacles, ran up hills, etc." Unless there's a different way to do it.</strong></p>

<p>Is my topic too common/boring? Other ways to approach this instead?
Any other ideas would be fully appreciated. Thanks. =]</p>

2

<p>thanks for the great ideas.......</p>

3

<p>I don't think it's trite if you craft your essay carefully. Don't forget they want you to tell them about a quality you will bring to the University. Be specific about what you learned about yourself, how you changed, and what you can bring to the U from that experience. For instance, if it changed the way you view yourself, will that experience help you to not judge others as quickly as you might have before? I think you get my drift here...</p>

4

<p>I am not sure which UC you are applying to but as far as UCB goes they are not fans of that question specifically for that reason. The counselor told me that most athletes choose that question to answer and they answer it in the same way. Just make sure if you do that to make it more interesting then the standard obstacles/reaching goals essay. Try to approach it from a fresh angle and you should be fine.</p>