Do you think that it would be a good or bad idea to write about the mass violence at my school when I was a freshman? I want to talk about how as a result of it, I organized volunteer and outreach programs and learned how important writing was to express ourselves and understand others. I’m planning on majoring in English so I thought it might be a good fit??? I feel kinda guilty to use such a devastating event to get into a college, but it is a part of me and it did happen. I don’t want the objective to be pity, I just want to show how it shaped me and why I’m pursuing the path I am.
As long as you don’t refer to the particular nature of the violence, don’t sensationalize it, and keep the focus on what you have said here, I think it could work.
It is fine as long as teh crux of the essay is about you – how you grew, matured, changed etc. from the experience. Although the incident sounds horrible, don’t make it a woe is me or a violence-driven type of essay.
You should use your experience as an introduction to the essay but the majority should be about what you have done and what you have learned because of it. It can be a good starting point, but don’t make it the center of the essay.