<p>Hey, I'm really stuck about these common app essays. For the big essay/topic of choice I am considering these choices:</p>
<ol>
<li>talk about how I tried to learn spanish when I was 6 (I am white, non-hispanic)</li>
<li>talk about my pet peeves</li>
</ol>
<p>I tried to go with the #1 but I don't know how to encorporate my characteristics into the essay. Any tips or comments? Also, if you want to read what I started writing let me know! Thanks!</p>
<p>Negatory on both… and forget the “incorporating my characteristics” part. Here’s a trick to finding a topic and starting an essay:</p>
<p>Make the goal to write a single, descriptive paragraph about a memorable moment in your life. Think back on those moments that left strong impressions on you. They might be good memories… or bad ones. Choose several of the strongest memories and try to visualize yourself back there. Write down everything you can remember about those single moments. Don’t worry about style, spelling, or grammar. Just create a stream of consciousness and record it, especially concentrating on describing the event (not your feelings about the event).</p>
<p>Now examine each of the moments you’ve described, and determine which of these changed you, tested you, made you stronger, or just gave insight into what makes you you. If one of these memories does that, you’ve just discovered your essay topic.</p>
<p>Once you’ve got that, turn those descriptive words into a paragraph which will serve to drop the reader right into that situation. Describe, don’t interpret. And when that is finished, polish that paragraph.</p>
<p>That paragraph will become the first paragraph of your essay, drawing a reader into your story immediately.</p>
<p>–Robert Cronk, author of Concise Advice: Jump-Starting Your College Admissions Essays</p>