<p>Is this what a hook is? </p>
<p>I went to a very competitive boarding school for two years and then had to leave because we could not afford it even with my scholarship. I live with my father, and my freshman-junior years handled the finances for the family (me, father, younger sister), as when his mother died he was unable to. At one point during my junior year, which is really the source of my low GPA (that's the worst, I know) we were homeless for a little over a month, and that year we spent the entire winter in a house with no heating (in the North East, as well). Then, this year, my father married somebody in Ohio and I had to handle the custodial argument with my mother (my father has full custody for good reason (involves previous step-father), but she still made a fuss over the move in court), and take care of my sister, talk to the lawyers, etc. So now, I've started late at a new school for my senior year, and I'm pretty confident that I'll pull a 4.0 uw. I'm also a first generation for college. Sometimes I see people talking about circumstances like these as if they're hooks, but I don't know. </p>
<p>I don't know if I would even feel comfortable putting it in my application. It sounds a lot like an excuse for my not having handled a situation as well as I should have, you know? What should I do? I also don't want my essay to come off as a plea for pity. I need some advice. If this isn't a hook, can you tell me what is? Is it just winning an international competition or something?</p>