<p>I have written two separate essays for the supplement but am faced with a slight issue:
both the topics i have chosen to write about (according to several posts found on this board) seem a little "over-used" or even "bad"... in which case the amount of passion i inject into these won't make much difference because the topics are over-used anyway (right?).</p>
<p>The topics are:
1) working in a nursing home/ helping the homeless via an NGO => apparently, everybody does this and won't really make me stand out
2) pre-med stuff that would put me at a disadvantage (intl).</p>
<p>Should i just stick to one of those " a person who has influenced me" essays? i have no idea what to write about since what i have been most involved in seems to be "over-rated"</p>
<p>George, the essay-topic issue has been a longstanding one for many of us. Really, I think that any of your topics can work, but only if you make it work. You see, it's not what topic you write about it's how you write it. There's this essay-advice guide from UVA that has popped up around CC several times, and that's essentially what it says. A great writer can make the dullest topics come alive, and a bad/mediocre writer can make the most dramatic topic boring. It's all up to you. And if you feel that those 2 topics that you listed are essential to you as a person, then by all means use them.</p>
<p>Also, how 'playful' or 'creative' do we have to be in these essays? is it okay to be factual and serious and provide more insight into activities we've participated in than a quality of ours more directly?</p>
<p>I really think the most important part is to let your voice come through. It's your personality that makes the essay sparkles. I really put myself into the essays, I actually feel sort of burned out and don't really want to write any more of these personal essays!</p>