<p>what i used terms such as using my friend's names? here's an excerpt:</p>
<p>"There was I, the ambitious fellow who really wanted to do somethign. There was Robbie Leung, the conservative fellow who was always in the middle. On the other side, there was Pete Dagger, who stuck with the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" method. Finally, there was Mark Smith, the quiet fellow. Most of the time you had to force him to spit the ideas out. Together, we made the most unusual but inspiring debate team" </p>
<p>is something like this approperiate to use in an essay? it just seems a little weird because i haven't read personal essays where the writer introduces other people.</p>
<p>It adds a lot of character into your story than simply saying this "person A". However, I would find out the colleges these people are also applying. If they are applying to the same college(s) you are sending that essay to, cut out their last name. It would hardly benefit them if their friend (you) says something about them being "conservative, middle, quite, stuck with the...".</p>
<p>[exaggeration]Heck, if I claimed in my essay that I was liberal Christian and one of my friend's applications said I was a conservative Satanist who sacrifices goats for a living...that would obviously create conflicts and complications[/exaggeration]</p>
<p>If you're uncomfortable with that suggestion but find it appealing, "misspell" it a bit:instead of Robbie, use Robby; Pete, Peat; Mark, Marl. I'd still cut out their last names.</p>