I was really struggling to think of anything meaningful to write about for my common app essay, but I brainstormed this idea tonight.
When I was in 6th grade Hurricane Irene hit my house and my family had to live at my grandmother’s house for a few months while my dad stayed at our house and fixed it. It was hard because it was in a different town so it was very far from our school. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but just the little things about it were really emotionally tolling for me: it was really cold in that house, i was always exhausted (we had to wake up early to drive to school), and the smell of the attic at her house (where I slept during those months) brings back crazily vivid memories of that time. All of this was happening while I was going to cheerleading practice every day after school and doing my homework late at night and keeping my grades up. So I want to write about how the experience taught me to push through hard times and keep working hard and not let life get me down. In particular, I want to use kind of a metaphor about “dancing in the rain” and describe how I literally used to dance in the rain (and now sometimes too although i don’t want to seem immature) and relate it back to the hurricane (rain).
I was excited about the topic at first but the more i consider it, I feel like it’s cliche. A lot of websites say specifically not to have a topic about 1. something that happened in middle school (which this is) and 2. a natural disaster (which this is). also is this too much of a sob story? I want to try to focus on how the experience taught me to have a positive outlook despite difficult circumstances, but i don’t want to make it seem like this was the hardest thing anyone could go through (i wasn’t in danger or anything) and I don’t want to seem like a dramatic crybaby (“other people have real/worse problems” type of thing).
Also just an fyi I want to try to write it largely in narrative form with a lot of description and imagery and stuff. And I want to try to really write it in a way that reveals my voice and my personality through my feelings and thoughts during this period in my life.
I was also considering having a bit about how there is no magic solution or realization that can turn someones life around, and how in my experience the only way to get through is to keep pushing and keep living even when things around you aren’t going how you want them to. I was thinking maybe I could say this instead of the whole “I learned to have a positive outlook ever since I got thorugh the hurricane” because honestly that isn’t true.
Anyway, if you have any advice, please share. Sorry this was long, thanks for reading!