<p>"Describe the world you come from for example, your family, community or school and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations."</p>
<p>For this prompt, do you think it would be okay to talk about my early childhood or do essay readers want to read something more in the recent times? I was thinking about writing how I was a top student in elementary school and then video games and the stereotype that "smart people aren't cool" started to take my interest away from school. And then I learned to overcome those things and start trying in high school. Do you think this topic could work?</p>
<p>I think admissions officers want to read an ‘updated’ version of yourself. You’ve changed a lot since grade school. However, the idea that you are toying around with now ( how you’ve changed, video game distractions and regaining your focus) could result in a good essay.</p>
<p>Thanks ivyprospective for the response. Is this a cliche topic by any means?</p>
<p>You shouldn’t worry about the topic being cliche. You should focus more on how you present yourself. Some people pick the most mundane topics but end up producing award-winning essays.</p>
<p>In regards to your topic, I think you focus on the idea of self-reflection, meaning that after your journey filled with ups and downs, what did you take away from it? Did you discover something new about yourself? Also, it would be great to include specific examples/memorable experiences in your essay. You don’t want to generalize. The goal is to show an aspect of yourself that cannot be found in transcripts/test scores to and set you apart from other applicants.</p>
<p>Feel free to ask me anymore questions.</p>
<p>I think an even better idea for this essay would be to describe the turning point in your life, when you realized that video games and other distractions were not as important as your education. Pinpoint a single memory in which you came to this realization and how it shaped your future aspirations/dreams.</p>
<p>That’s actually a very good idea. I’ll write about that. But I seem to be stuck on the “dreams and aspirations” part of the essay. What do they mean by this? Do the dreams and aspirations have to be related to your major or can they be in another area of life to better fit into this topic?</p>
<p>Your future aspirations can be in another area of your life. They don’t have to be related to your major.</p>
<p>The link below provides useful info on how to approach UC essays:</p>
<p>[Upward</a> Bound - UC Personal Statement](<a href=“http://www.cfep.uci.edu/ub/senior_center/uc_personal_statement.html]Upward”>http://www.cfep.uci.edu/ub/senior_center/uc_personal_statement.html)</p>
<p>Hope this helps. Good luck! :)</p>