Should I write what they tell me to? Or what I want to write about? Bit of a personal issue...

College Essays
1

<p>TL;DR</p>

<p>Should I write about a topic that wouldn't sit too well with my family? Even if it's something personal that I think would be a good topic?</p>

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<p>My sister is a helicopter sibling if I've ever seen one. She'll definitely be reading anything I send in to admissions offices... but I want to write about a topic that REALLY wouldn't sit well with her. It's about my father.</p>

<p>Let's just say there's bad blood between my father and my mother, and my sister has refused to so much as speak to him in over six years.</p>

<p>I can't find it in me to be cold towards him or his children whenever I visit him, no matter how much they tell me about how he's hurt us. I can't find it in me to really be cold to anyone. My mother and sister see me as a fool--someone that anyone can take advantage of. It's a weakness to them.</p>

<p>To me, it's my greatest strength. That's because I believe in the infinite potential for humanity to evolve--I think cooperation is the key to this. So I will never make an enemy out of anyone. Ever.</p>

<p>It's definitely an issue that's central to who I see myself as, but my sister would be mortified if I wrote something like that. I don't antagonize them. I can't quite understand what they've been through and they have all the right to be angry, but that's just how I see it. It's a subject that's really personal but I'm afraid to even write about it.</p>

<p>Is it even a good topic to write about? I know adcoms don't want to read about daddy-issues, so that's not the focus. The focus of it would be on a characteristic I cherish very much that I possess--the inability to hate or antagonize another person. To always desire to work with someone rather than against them.</p>

<p>Sorry for this wall of text, but I feel as if I need to REALLY describe my situation to get good answers.</p>

<p>Thanks for reading! I appreciate any help anyone can offer.</p>

2

<p>I would absolutely go with what you feel your greatest strength-- if you really believe what you’re saying, it will come out in the passion in the essay.
I mean or you could be a SUPER talented liar/writer. But I’d definitely recommend being honest to yourself, and if you are concerned with what your sister says, either tell her that you’re not really comfortable having her read it or just be absolutely firm about the fact that you want to submit this essay.</p>

3

<p>My essay also didn’t sit well with my family. But ,because I felt it most strongly conveyed how I developed to be who I am, I wrote it anyway. Do what you feel is right.</p>

4

<p>This is an interesting approach. At first when you are describing family drama my instant reaction is no, we don’t care what your sister thinks or who she speaks to and parents divorce or separation so tiresome yada, yada. But you have something to say about how you see the world because of it or inspite of it and that makes it infinitely more interesting. Just be careful and maybe don’t make the whole essay about family, find another point to reinforce your worldview too, is my thought.</p>

<p>What is bothersome is that your sister sounds overly involved with your essay topic and writing. It is not her place to be bothered about what your write. You cannot give her this right. For this topic, it sounds like she cannot separate the idea from the personal so she needs to be cut out from this process.</p>