<p>I'm very drawn to the topic about modernizing a mythological character, but I worry I might be wasting an opportunity to talk more about myself. If I display creativity in an essay about a Greek god living in 2008, does that mean as much as an essay concerning me, the applicant?</p>
<p>If you can employ effective literary techniques, it could be a great opportunity to express certain points of view that you hold, all the while being creative.</p>
<p>The admissions committee has all the info it needs about you ... there is no further need to talk about yourself. The point of the essay is to show something about you that "telling about yourself" does NOT. Your <em>voice</em> is important, and it says things about you that cannot be conveyed in any other way. Follow your instinct and write the optional essay that you are drawn toward ... I am willing to bet it will be fabulous.</p>
<p>Oh Kelsmom, I swoon a little when you talk like that. I hope everyone reading at home takes note of your intuitive sense of why we read those essays.</p>
<p>That's a challenging question, and the students that really seem to enjoy writing those tend to reveal intriguing pieces of their intellectual interests. You'd be surprised how much we can learn about you from see the little references that show up, or the character you choose, or the way you go about imagining the answer. </p>
<p>How you create an answer to a question like that will probable say more about you than the answer itself. Don't worry about how we're going to react and have as much fun as you can with our supplement - the results will be better that way, I promise.</p>