<p>For the past couple of weeks I've been having a horrible time trying to decide what to write about for my Common App personal essay. I want to be unique, but I also don't want to seem like I'm straining to extend my essay because I don't actually care too much about the subject. So I'd really appreciate some advice on how any of these sound:</p>
<p>1) My parallelism to Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye.</p>
<p>2) How my conflicted relationship (disillusionment, reluctance, anger, and non-participation abound) with the LGBTQ community has helped shape my identity (I'm gay).</p>
<p>3) How seeing Little Miss Sunshine in middle school influenced my worldview and taste in visual arts</p>
<p>4) Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot photograph and how it pertains to my philosophy. this would require a loose interpretation of "creative work."</p>
<p>5) My great great aunt (yes, two "greats") whose stories and extremely odd toys I've grown up on. she remembers as far back as the Great Depression and her views on life and people--she's a psychology and theatre teacher--have helped give me a more secular view of reality and the complexity of human interaction.</p>
<p>thank you! That one would be fun to write on, i’m just worried my colleges wouldn’t be very thrilled with me calling a scientific photo a “creative work.”</p>
<p>2,4,5 I like. The problem with 3 is not everyone has seen LMS, and I don’t think it’s a movie that can be succinctly explained to a non-viewer in a short essay, let alone one in which you discuss your own art/worldview. The problem with 1 is that CITR, if not regarded as sophomoric literature, is a bit cliche. It’s like writing a critical piece about Harry Potter, except you would be serious and therein lies the problem, because CITR is not really a text one would write ironically about. </p>
<p>2 I like how you can explore various issues of identity in the sociocultural context. Done well, it would show a good deal of critical reflection and could even teach the reader a thing or two about the LGBTQ community.</p>
<p>4 I like despite having reservations about the uniqueness of the topic- many write about how the blue dot photograph shapes their philosophy, so just be sure you’re bringing something new to the table. </p>
<p>5 I think has the most potential for humor and originality. A common word of advice is to avoid writing about another person, instead spending time to focus on oneself. Frankly I think that statement is overly individualistic. We are not bubbles, our identity is shaped by those around us, and we view those around us with a lens unique to the individual. Society is interaction, not isolation.</p>