Showing "passion" on an essay

430ktk
Sat, 14 Jun 2014 02:09:33 +0000

@gibby: Yeah, I’ve heard different versions of that same advice. “If a teacher found your essay on the floor with no name, they should be able to tell whose it is.” “If your friends put their thumb over your name, they should be able to tell it’s yours.” I understand the idea behind the advice, but it seems easier said than done. But that may just be because I’m never fully satisfied with any of my writing.

I was considering writing about debate (among other things) for the essay “Why Brown”. For debate, it’s pretty much an unspoken rule that business attire should be worn. Kids almost universally wear suits. I wear sweatpants and a hoodie. It started off as just me wanting to be comfortable and slowly turned into a very important part of my identity in the debate community. I want to work it into my essay that Brown is a place for kids like that- kids who wear sweatpants in a crowd of suits- basically, that Brown is a place for independent thinkers who are great at what they do. However, I’m afraid that it might sound a bit arrogant (oh, look at what an awesome debater I am) or immature (I’m so immature that I can’t wear a suit for four hours). Is it possible to write about that without making myself seem unlikable?