I am currently a high school junior, and with college applications coming soon I’ve been thinking of potential essay topics. I know a topic I’m considering for a variety of different essays is my travel experience.
My mom’s entire side of the family is still in Asia and we’ve visited a couple times within my life time. I would love to talk about how these experiences in different countries have changed my perspective and has given me a different outlook from my peers (living in a small, majorly white rural town). However, I’ve heard that talking about my travel experiences won’t be a good topic because it would seem like it’s “bragging” and that it’s just showing that I can afford to go to these places, but I think having family there would make my essay different then just someone who goes on vacations.
Any advice would be extremely helpful because I feel like the aspect of travel and the culture has had a huge impact on my life and has shaped me to be who I am.
Who told you it would seem like bragging? That sounds absolutely, positively incorrect and misleading/confusing to the extreme. They sound like they have no clue what they’re talking about.
If you have a unique experience that can provide insight into why you are who you are, why not use it? As long as you write effectively about how travel has had a profound effect on molding who you are, it seems to me like a fantastic topic.
It is not bragging unless you are describing some all-inclusive beach resort. If you feel the experiences of travel and having family in another country have shaped you, then by all means, write about that.
I don’t think it comes off as bragging at all. It definitely is a good essay topic, but is it great? If you really think those experiences define you as a person then I would say go for it, otherwise I don’t find it all that compelling.
I get what you mean- it could smack of ‘privilege’ which is not a good word these days.
It will be a harder essay than you think if you are going to put some meat on it. ‘I learned about how differently people live’ or ‘I realized how much I take for granted’ (also found in essays from people who have done 2 week service trips to foreign parts) won’t win you any points at selective colleges. They will want to know what you did with your realization - not just how it changed your awareness of something, but how that has changed how your actions or how your choices or whatever. And, as others have said: ‘show, don’t tell’