<p>The more overused an essay topic is, the better yours will stand out from the others if it is an authentic expression of your own voice.</p>
<p>How overused is this topic: "I work well with people of other races/ethnic groups".</p>
<p>And yet, one of the five best essays I read last year, out of well over 100, was on just that topic. It was spectacular, and stood out even more because of the relative commonness of the topic.</p>
<p>How about this: "I would like to be a writer": the topic of another truly outstanding essay.</p>
<p>IMO: write what is genuine to you, authentic to you, your own voice, and forget about what everyone else may be writing about. </p>
<p>It is not the topic, it is what you do with the topic. </p>
<p>I have no idea if your proposed topic is sufficiently authentic for you or not. But that decision has nothing to do, IMO, with what other people are writing. </p>
<p>What AdComs want is your own voice, whatever the topic in which it expresses itself may be. If you feel that you proposed topic is cliche, then either: (1) you haven't probed the topic deeply enough, or (2) this is not a topic in which you can show your own voice.</p>