What should I write about for this topic?

College Essays
1

Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so, how?

I know that it cant be something as insignificant as not being able to find the ketchup, but Im still not sure on what else I should stay away from. Should it be school related? How negative or positive should it be? and should I be changed from it?
Here are some things that have happened to me, conflicts:

NEGATIVES Circumstances
-Lost my front tooth on a trampoline. It was put back in and looked really bad at first.
-Parents divorced
-I’m Jewish, and have gotten crap from plenty of people for it (ex. discriminatory comments-“You killed Jesus”, “racist” jokes, constant questioning-“wheres your kippah, sucks to keep kosher right?”
-Have ADHD. Mostly controlled now, but I did need medication up until 8th grade
-Pet deaths, had a couple

POSITIVES Circumstances
-Deciding how to spend $1000 lol
-Choosing to play Trombone over Percussion
-Building a gaming computer
-Playing Golf after Football
-Friends>Popularity

-Hot cheetohs or salt and vinegar chips

Cant think of any more. Maybe something you would chose would inspire me. Thanks for the help in advance!

2

Out of the negative ones, I think the one about being Jewish is the one that stands out the most (I didn’t know that discrimination against Jews was still a thing, but that’s probably because I grew up near a large Jewish community).

Out of the positive ones, the instrument one could be interesting depending on your reasoning; maybe you were drawn to the commonly held notion that playing percussion makes you cooler, lol, and you could comment on going against what’s mainstream, lol. Building the gaming computer also sounds pretty unique, but I’m not sure how you’d explain the way it changed you (I’m assuming that it’s okay for a major obstacle to have left you resolute and unchanged, but if it’s something minor, I would just think that you were unchanged because the event was insignificant). And I’d definitely read an essay about Hot Cheetos vs. salt and vinegar chips (although I don’t like salt and vinegar chips, so there is only one clear choice for me).

Overall, though, I think the religion / culture one is the most interesting. But note that it is cliched to come to the conclusion, in an essay, that “I learned to not care what others think and embrace my [insert previously hated characteristic here].” So if you can’t get around coming to that conclusion, maybe you want to try something else…

3

I feel like this essay topic leans more towards negative essays naturally, just because it uses the words like “conflict,” “obstacle,” and “resolve.” The only positive one you mentioned that could fit might be the hot Cheetos essay, if written really well.

I once read something along the lines of this (regarding college essays): “you want to write about something so integral to your life that your application would be incomplete without it.” The quote sounds a bit like saying that you have to have some dramatic life-changing experience (like the Jewish essay or the divorce - or even the trombone>percussion if somehow the people you met because of being trombone impacted you) but if humor is an important part of your personality, it is okay to choose a humorous topic as well.

Basically, don’t sound like a jerk and be yourself in your essay, and you’ll be golden, no matter what you write about.

4

Hmm… The Jewish one will be a pain to write about because it was a while ago… and i really do like hot cheetohs. So as a writer I can be very humorous, mainly sarcastic when Im expressing opinions. Usually I do it in less formal ocassions.

Here’s an overboard example of that for reference. An email I sent my teacher:

Hey Mrs. Thompson, I hope youre enjoying your summer as negatively as much as we enjoyed the Scarlet Letter, and hopefully that’s more than this email. You’re probably thinking “oh, boy, he’s back. I thought I was done with him?” but here I am, probably typing grammatical errors without even knowing. But, you see, you are the perfect person to identify these errors, not because you’re paid to do it at school, but because you’re just sooooooooooo smart at these things, which I am not; 90’s in precal, 70’s in english, it is known. Anyways, I know you’re missing work so much about now, so I figured I could relieve you of your stress and give you an assignment for once. Could you, 3 pleases, proof read my college admissions essays, all 3 of them, hint the 3 pleases. Now, these essays are currently unwritten, but in due time, they will be typed on my computer “ready” for submission. I know you would be, please, dying to get it all done in one sitting, please, but i will allow, please, you to pace yourself, as long as you could, please, get, please, it done, please, before aug-please-ust 1ish, please, 2ndish time. Anyways, you don’t have to, but just know that I may never be able to get into college, get a job, fulfill my dreams, get married, or die happy if these aren’t “good”-which is a very subjective term, but I will trust your judgment. So please get back to me soon, I will be up night and day, scared, sweating bullets, until then. Best of luck i guess, and thanks for your time. Your possibly favorite student, but never confirmed, Jacob.

Her response was positive, then again, this wasnt a college essay. So my new question is, i guess, Should i pick a humorous topic, and be semi serious semi funny–of course not nearly as sarcastic as my example–or should i pick a serious topic and be semi funny semi serious. I know colleges are looking for personality and voice, so i figured this might be a good way. Cheetohs vs salt and vinegar chips lol