<p>I’m writing a supplement for Yale and Harvard, and the essay is about me sucking at lacrosse. But I talk about how I continue to play the sport because the moments of success make everything worth it; I tried to make the essay humorous. Is this too risky?</p>
<p>In lieu of any other positive factors, good humor evokes the adage it doesn’t hurt to try.</p>
<p>I would not categorize such an essay as risky; rather, I would describe it as somewhat inconsequential in view of the overall (dim) prospects for success.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is risky at all, but don’t focus on the “sucking at lacrosse” part of the story. You should write about the positive factors. For instance, my common app essay was about how much I gained by sailing even tough I never gained first place. I mentioned that I suck at sailing, but I focused on how much I learned with the sport. </p>
<p>What do you mean by “I continue to play the sport because the moments of success make everything worth it”? I don’t get it, so are you bad or good at lacrosse? Do you mean that you usually suck at lacrosse but you keep trying because when you finally achieve success it makes everything worth it? If so, this is great, because it shows that you are mature and instead of letting failure put you down you persevere.</p>
<p>This is exact opposite of risky, lol. Every kid athlete writes about how he or she “lost the game” but still “learned/gained so much.” I’m surprised no one else thinks this topic is cliched.</p>
<p>menacing the topic might indeed be considered “cliched,” but so what? It is how your write it that matters. I am absolutely sure that none of those essays from kids who “lost the game” but still “learned/gained so much” is like mine, because I wrote it my own way and about my own experience. What I mean is that writing about a cliched topic is not the end of the world, because, again, how you write it is what matters.</p>