I am applying to uw-madison. An essay prompt that they have is consider something in your life that goes unnoticed and explain why it is important to you. I have come up with two possible ways to answer the prompt.
The first way is to talk about my hard work ethic and how it plays a big role in my success regardless if people see it or not.
The second way is talking about both my race and religion. I am a minority in both aspects, and I would like to talk about how both those things really go unnoticed. The fact that I am a minority seems to pass over people, and I feel like i’ve effectively “blended” into my majority white neighborhood and school. At the same time, when I am with people of both the same religion and race, I can easily interact with them just like I do with people who aren’t minorities. Then I would go on to say how I am thankful I can manage both parts of my “cultural identity” without them conflicting with one another, and without having to deal with any added animosity that some minorities have to face.
The way I see it, the first way to answer the prompt feels a lot more generic and expected and boring, while the second prompt offers a lot more insight into who i am as a person. The stuff about race and religion is something I never openly converse with anyone, so it would feel a lot more personal and whoever is reading it i believe would be able to feel that.
would talking about race and religion be a lot better than the first choice, or is it something i should stay away from?