None of this is about 200 years ago. Stealing, even justified, is not an attribute they look for. The safer bet is to show strengths they do want to see. If this is a mere mention and OP’s point is amazing, dedicated compassisonate efforts today, that is different than just “this is my background, but I’m past that.” This is all about admissions. Not ordinary bio writing or an essay in hs.
It has to be, “Show, not just tell,” which means, from examples, an adcoms can see it, believe it. Not just a declaration that OP has changed. And those examples need to be appropriate. Not just, "And now I go volunteer with nursery schcool kids " or “One/year I vol at the food bank.”
I’ve read plenty of essays and kids have a hard enough time with a clear cut topic.
As usual, we have zero idea what colleges. That would help a lot. And if you’re taking the time to apply to a college- and apply well, to increase chances- why then throw caution to the wind and say, if a college doesn’t like my essay, fooey on them? If you are aiming high, this is high statkes.
Of course, it still exists. The 200 year commet was in response to two refs to Les Miserables. But this particular essay is for college admissions. If it’s not a set of highly competitive targets OP can do what he thinks is best.
If it’s not about stealing to feed your baby sister and buy her diapers, then it might be off limits. Also, even if the stealing was “justified” you would have to morally account for the person you stole from.
But look at the purpose of this particular piece of writing: it’s supposed to convince the reader to admit you to his/her school.
I would argue that this particular essay would probably imply that either you weren’t well supervised or that you have-- or had-- a tendency towards bad choices. Neither one would convince me that you are a better choice than a kid who didn’t choose to steal. And colleges will see lots of apps from other kids in bad circumstances who didn’t make that choice-- or at least choose not to disclose it.
Also, of course, there’s the fact that this happened years ago. It does nothing to convince the reader that 18 year old you is a good choice.
I’m inclined to agree with @bjkmom in post 25. The main issue is does the essay show who you are now? Writing about stuff you did as a kid may indeed be very interesting, but not if it doesn’t relate to who you are now. I don’t necessarily think it’s a total no-go as a topic, but you would need to be very skillful to pull it off.
Sounds like a risky “go big or go home” type of essay. Might be worth the risk for super reachy schools, not so much for matches and safeties. Is it possible to replace the “stealing” anecdote with something less controversial, like hoarding/not sharing which also conveys the types of difficult choices you had as a child?
That’s really the point. This is a college app essay. In many other contexts, it could be fascinating. But you’re asking adcoms to admit you and too much about the backstory can go off track. Of course, we sympathize and are sorry for the past.
Parent here – my suggestion would be, the essay is not a forum for sharing one’s goals for but demonstrating the qualities that make one a desirable member of the college/university community. Brief anecdotes about childhood which lead to a bigger picture story about who the applicant is now, can work. But focusing on what the applicant wants to achieve in the future, as opposed to what they will bring to campus in the fall of "19, is not as helpful.