My statement is one big story of all my hardships. My parents are first generations who never went to school, i am gay and muslim, and I have been bullied for both. I am also poor. Will these things hurt me? Would it be better if I had talked about how smart I was instead of all my disadvantages? Someone please help. I have like two days before I need to submit it.
Your story can’t simply be that you faced hardship. I think a better way to look at it would be: “Would it be better if I had talked about how well I’ve done academically despite all of my disadvantages?”
You need to set the stage for them, discussing your disadvantaged past and how it has shaped you as an individual and student. Then you need to show how you persevered through it.
Your hardships are your conflict, how you succeeded academically and personally despite the deck being stacked against you is your resolution.