<p>around 6 months ago, some family issues came up. my dad decided that he had enough of this family and yeah i think you can guess the rest. because my dad was the one that initiated this whole thing, i lean on my mom’s side. so my point is, on the application forms with questions like “how would you describe your family and the role you play” (my parents are not divorced yet…we’re all still living in the same house) should I say what happened? or should I say some other sentimental crap which does not apply to me? i’m thinking that if i say what really happened, it will be hard to explain my situation and answer the question correctly. and it will be easier to answer the question more accurately if i just make some stuff up. but i suppose i won’t be able to put much thought into it so it won’t be detailed.</p>
<p>thanks for your advice</p>
<p>It sounds like you have some anger that is bleeding through. I think you can be honest about your family situation, and hopefully in an objective way. If you get too heavy into value judgments and invective and sarcasm or sniping, that’s really not going to be attractive.</p>
<p>Take a step back from the situation. Consider what someone might say if they were a guest in your home for a week. And remember that this situation seems fluid. You’ve got over a decade of history that you can call upon to explore the role you play. You don’t need to limit yourself to taking a snapshot. How have you related to each of your family members over time?</p>
<p>In the context of the current situation, how have you responded and reacted? Have you been a pillar of support and a rock for others? Have you been needy and someone who amplifies problems that family members are facing? You can explain that you play certain roles in your family without detailing the ups and downs of your parents’ marriage.</p>
<p>There’s no need to make stuff up. I can envision a number of approaches to this question that are not problematic. I would encourage you to come up with an approach to this question that is informative, revealing and open without answering the question in a manner that is alarming or depressing to a third party reader half a world away. Try some of the ideas I suggest above. And, yeah, concise might be one way to go…as hypocritical as that may sound coming from me, here, in paragraph 4.</p>
<p>Good luck with the essay and, more importantly, everything else on the home front.</p>
<p>make lemonade when you get lemons. i guess this means to make something sweet from sour. anyway, my mom has been ill for the past year. it has changed a lot in my life. i say just let them know what is going on in your life and how you are handling it. my guess is that they want to understand how our minds work and how we deal with difficulties.</p>
<p>I know you must be going through a rough time right now and it is coloring your view of your family. However, I think you can answer this question without going into any detail about your father checking out of your family. </p>
<p>The question How would you describe your family and the role you play is designed to find out more about you, not how well your parents get along. You can talk about how you interact with your siblings (if you have any), or your parents. </p>
<p>Are you the one who helps your mom around the house, a Mothers Little Helper? Are you the funny one, who makes everyone laugh, even when times are rough? Are you the child who questions every rule, before realizing that Mom was actually right :)? Im just throwing some suggestions out there, but I hope you can see ways to respond to this question without ever mentioning your current family dynamics.</p>
<p>Whatever you do, dont lie. One of my daughters used to tell people her parents were divorced, because it didnt create any sympathylots of kids parents are divorced. She didnt want to say her dad was killed, because she didnt want to call attention to herself, didnt want to be different. The lie created problems for her she never could have foreseen. Remember that famous quotation by Sir Walter Scott:<br>
Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive!</p>