<p>Would it be a bad idea to talk about my eating disorder in one of my college essays? I want to go to University of Illinois and their psychology program is very prestigious. After battling with anorexia for a few years I decided I want to dedicate my life to helping those in similar situations through therapy, etc. One of the essay questions is something like "why do you want to major in (insert major)?" I want to talk about my disorder and recovery, what I learned from it and how I can use it to help others, but I'm worried it's too personal or it might come off as trying to gain sympathy. This topic is very important to me and it may be the one thing that has made me who I am today. I really feel as though I need to include it somewhere in my app. Also, it has a lot to do with why I never did any sports throughout high school. I won't use it as an excuse for that, more so as an explanation. And again, I don't want their sympathy. I want to use this for the major-specific essay question. There's not another detailed reason as to why I'm choosing psychology. So I'm a little stuck. Thoughts?</p>
<p>And just as a side note: I'm completely 100% recovered. There's no way I'll ever relapse and I'll make that clear to them. I've been recovered for over a year now. I don't think they'd worry about my relapsing during college but just in case, I will definitely stress that.</p>