@writergirl0316 But other than the research, what does OP show? It’s not as much about “passion” as CC claims. The tippy tops rarely value unilateral over nicely rounded. Remember, they get tens of thousands of top applicants, many with breadth, as well as depth, and want to build a community. The non-stem choices can show very much about how a kid engages, other than his one primary interest and one thing in the community. It’s not loosey-goosey “padding,” but having various interests and pursuing them, too. (You can follow what MIT has to say about all this.)
It’s not about communicating “why that specifically has intrigued” OP. It’s about showing them why they want you, based on what they want, in the first place. We’re talking Stanford. Various energies matter.