<p>Hi everyone, </p>
<p>So there is an essay prompt that asks to write about someone who has influenced me greatly, and I wanted to talk about my boyfriend. It's actually not that lovey-dovey kind of thing but more like how he has helped me become more confident and has pushed me to do my best (he was the reason why I ran for president, and I even won).
I wasn't sure if that would be a good idea, or if I should just mention him as my very close friend. </p>
<p>I would appreciate any advice on this. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>I think it is fine to reference him as your boyfriend, as long as you talk about him as a very close friend. But I would be cautious. Some essay readers may still take it negatively, so it may be best to just leave out the fact that he is you boyfriend. Your choice, really.</p>
<p>Okie dokie, thank you so much :)</p>
<p>The pitfall in this prompt is that many kids end up talking up the person who influenced them- and ignoring that what matters is who you are, what adcoms can learn about you. Also, sometimes, in writing about how another person influenced you, many kids inadvertently admit all sort of things adcoms don’t necessarily need to hear- eg, about shyness, self-doubt, or lack of confidence. So, be careful.</p>
<p>This isn’t like a hs essay exercise where they want you to flex your writing skills and the topic is some other person. Did you try to fit this same concept into prompt 1, the challenge?</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought about the confidence part :o
Thank you for the advice 
I’ll be aware of that stuff.</p>
<p>I had already talked about another topic for the challenge, which was leaving my swim team for a new school. I had to use a different prompt because there was another prompt that basically asked to “use a quote from an essay or book and describe an experience that helped define one of your values or how you approach the world,” and if I had used this, then I would be talking about leaving the swim team. The college asked not to repeat in whole, or in part, the essay that I had used for the challenge one. So that’s why I decided to talk about a person that has influenced me. </p>
<p>I hope that wasn’t confusing lol, it confused me a little</p>
<p>My thought is to dig deeper and further back into your childhood and see if you can come up with something else. If you decide to stick with the essay on your boyfriend, be very cautious writing it so as not to appear you need a lot external push/motivation to do things. Think instead of how he set himself as an example/role model for you. Good luck!</p>
<p>I would personally reference him as a close friend but I agree with eCoachJen, try and think of someone further back that might have influenced you.</p>
<p>It’s fine if you talk about him, as long as you relate him to you, and how he has affected and influenced you. In the end, the admissions office wants to know about you, not him. I’d also suggest that you don’t refer to him as your boyfriend, but it’s up to you.</p>