I’m wondering if this is too out-there for an essay topic.
I have emetophobia, a phobia of vomitting coupled with mild to moderate claustrophobia. I mean it–this is a full blown PHOBIA, a disease, the kind of thing that sets me crying and shaking and my heart racing if I feel the slightest bit ill or am around someone who’s sick. I work as a camp couselor with 3 to 5 year olds, and one day it was my job to take care of one who had the flu, which was a HUGE challenege for me–especially when she ended up vomitting on me! But I dealt with it and I want my essay to reflect how I found the courage to overcome my fear to help someone who needed me.
The problem is that I’m worried nobody will be able to relate. I mean, it’s unusual to be that scared of vomit and I don’t know if it will accurately convey how I really did overcome something that terrified me. Do you think adcoms won’t understand what a big deal this was for me? Do you think they’ll think I’m weird because of my phobia?
<p>I'm hoping that I can talk about overcoming my fears and finding a strength inside me that I was unaware I possessed to face something that terrifies me. It is akin to an essay about a kid who's scared of heights learning to rapel down a 100 foot sheer rock cliff face. I'm hoping I'll be able to convey that.</p>
<p>Haha, that's a good point--being remembered is good.</p>
<p>(Btw, it's nice of you to still respond to me even though we're debating about AA a few threads over :) But a debate is a debate and doesn't mean I don't like or respect you.)</p>
<p>I say go for it. I think being able to handle this situation is just like any other obstacle. You could have freaked out, but handling the situation responsibly really shows something</p>
<p>"I want my essay to reflect how I found the courage to overcome my fear to help someone who needed me."</p>
<p>semiserious, as long as this is the focus of your personal essay, you should be in good shape. Can you also tie this into why you want to go to college, your career goals, etc.? Don't dwell on the emetophobia itself, but how your experience of overcoming your phobia will make you a better person and how it will help you make a contribution to society.</p>
<p>BTW, what are your college and career goals? Would you want to help others in hs or college deal with their phobias? Could you make this sound like something you would want to do as a research or community service project while in college?</p>
<p>The idea is to make your experience (and end result) with emetophobia work for you and not against you in your personal essay.</p>
<p>I'm not quite sure what my career goals are. My interests include film and moviemaking, writing, working with children, and medicine. I'd like to (in order of current preference, but I'm considering them all): make documentary films, become a pediatrician or obstetrian, become a kindergarten/pre-school teacher, or become a social worker.</p>
<p>I've never seen the Exorcist, precisely for that scene. :) I don't know where the phobia came from; I personally feel it is genetic since my mother also has irrational phobias, though not of the same things.</p>
<p>There are a few things that worry me here. First I agree this will be memorable, I would just worry they'll call you vomit girl which may not be the way you want to be remembered.</p>
<p>Today there is much that can be done about phobias medically. To treat a phobia as you might a disability there is no help for does not make much sense. This is nothing that should cause a major struggle unless you can tell us you've tried the many medical approaches and just gave up to white knuckle it. Even so, how often do we encounter vomit if we're not young mothers? It's not excactly a major phobia.</p>
<p>I'm just not sure you can take this anywhere special.</p>
<p>Will people be able to relate: yes, if your essay is good, they will be able to relate. That is one of the points of your essay, conveying how you feel.</p>
<p>But: what are the alternatives? What else might you write about, and how do those possibilities compare with this? </p>
<p>Let's set aside the vomit for a second and just look at a more common phobia: if you were afraid of heights, would you write an essay about how you were able to take a child to the observation deck of a tall building? My reaction to that is: well, that is a good thing, a significant thing, but is that the first or second most important and informative thing about you, the one thing you want colleges to know? </p>
<p>I am a strong believer in writing about what you want to write about. But I would ask you to consider whether this topic really gets to what is central about you, the first or second most important thing you have to say about yourself.</p>
<p>I think ADad put it well. It's interesting, and if you're careful will work well. you'll certainly stand out, but consider if you have better alternatives. Basically, admissions are competitive everywhere these days, and only you know if you can spin this topic to show something that the admissions officers really, really want.</p>
<p>An aside - I noticed that you said you were considering medicine. With a phobia of vomit? To each their own and I wish you good luck : ) but according to what my mom told me from her experiences in medical school, a note of caution: hoardes of people veer away from medical school when they're finally face-to-face with the rather gruesome and sticky realities of the profession...and these are people without phobias mind you...;)</p>
<p>Haha, I know. I've thought about that quite a bit, and is in fact the biggest reason I wouldn't go into a career in medicine (that and the fact that I want to be a full-time mother eventually). But I am naturally fascinated with all things medical. I watch Discovery Health Channel nonstop. I excelled in Biology and I love dissections. I am just so organically interested in learning about medicine and the human body. I just feel like I'm wasting myself if I don't go into medicine in SOME way.</p>
<p>Have you ever considered majoring in biochemistry with a goal of earning a PhD and doing research? You wouldn't have to deal with all the icky stuff that you would encounter in medicine.</p>
<p>A lot of the appeal to me is the interaction with the people. Most likely I will end up making medical documentaries or working for Discovery Health Channel--that's really my dream. :) If not, I'll most likely end up as a pre-school or kindergarten teacher or working with young children in some other way. A good friend of mine just got a job doing pediatric physical therapy, another thing I'd love to be involved with. So many opportunities!</p>
<p>semiserious - ah, sorry, I misunderstood you. I assumed you meant a doctor, so I thought it sort of weird that you would consider it with your phobia. But yes, medicine is a very broad field, so I would keep looking if you feel a passion for it. : )</p>
<p>i don't know...i think one about an ec you were really passionate about will better show your character. this is certainly going to make you stand out, but maybe not that favorably. </p>
<p>it could be great, especially if you put a humorous twist to it.</p>
<p>Your last few posts were very informative and showed you in a very attractive light. :) They sound like the basis for a personal essay that, IMO, would be much stronger than an essay about your phobia.</p>
