(For UW App) Is it okay to mention the attempted suicide of a friend and how I called the police on him to save his life, but the essay is about how “See something, Say something” effects me and my character.
What does it say about you and does it show growth and maturity ?
You want to ‘sell’ them on you.
So yes but be careful.
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I would get your friend’s permission first and make sure you maintain their anonymity in your essay. Suicide is a very personal topic for a lot of people, so you want to make sure their name and everything stays private. Otherwise, I agree with the other reply - it can make a good essay, but be careful in your wording.
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Agree with this because otherwise if could potentially feel like you’re exploiting your friend’s suffering for personal gain. I would make sure they are OK with you sharing this story and any details you include. That is the ethical thing to do, imo.
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This is an extremely tough subject to write about for a college essay. You will have to be an excellent writer to make that happen. Personally, I would find something else. Certain topics are just very hard to pull off.
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I would not ask your friend’s permission. That could be painful. Please don’t do that.
Of course make it anonymous.
Examine your intentions and whether you are somehow exploiting the friend’s painful experience. It is possible to write about it without doing so. If you cannot, then choose another subject.
Can you post the actual prompt? It was unclear in your post. I doubt that finding a friend in the midst of a suicide attempt is an intended type of response to the prompt as I understand it. I think of that expression as relating to, say, being on the subway and noticing someone harassing another passenger. I don’t understand how that affects character so would need more clarification on that.
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Agree, do not ask your friend’s permission, and obviously, make it anonymous.
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I don’t think you should write about your friend’s extremely personal situation - anonymized or not. It’s their personal story. If it was my trauma, I would be extremely upset about a friend sharing my personal story in writing without my permission. Consider that some people with trauma are never even able to share their story in writing themselves for any number of reasons. And I agree with those who said asking permission might be painful for your friend (and upsetting that you want to include it in your college essay). I also think the context of the question/response makes it seem like a potentially exploitative response. If it framed around discuss an experience that impacted you specifically (couldn’t sleep out of worry for your friend, caused anxiety, constantly on edge etc) that’s one thing as it is your experience you’re focusing on (though I still don’t love it). But to frame it as - I noticed something was wrong and got help, that seems just off-putting to write about in my opinion.
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Except the essay has to be about the OP’s experience! If it isn’t it would be a terrible essay (for college admission). The Ad Com does not care what happened to the friend, they care about getting to know the applicant.
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I lost a parent and a friend to suicide during high school years. In this case, almost losing a friend to suicide can be impactful, even life-altering. If the OP uses the free essay help offered here on CC, an essay reader can help determine if the essay is appropriate or exploitative. I am sorry for the OP’s experience as well as, obviously, the friend’s.
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I’m sorry, I do respect your opinion, but as somebody who has attempted suicide several times in the past, I would rather a friend ask my permission to use my story in their essay than to find out that they did after the fact. That is the kind of breach of privacy that would make me never want to speak to someone again. I agree that it may be painful to hear a question like that (especially because it can come off as if they’re using the story for their own personal gain), but it’s better to ask than to just assume.
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Why would you find out ?
Why would they tell you ? The essay is about them. Not you. They needn’t name a person. They are simply writing aboit how it impacted them.
Sorry for your struggles. But I don’t think in this case, you’d have any involvement.
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Does that not seem a little bit wrong to you? Doing something with the assumption that it’s only okay because “they won’t find out”? I’m sorry if I’m coming off as harsh or accusatory, I genuinely do not mean to - this is just kind of a strange moral situation. From a logistics standpoint, you’re right - the essay is about the writer and the story is just a small part of it. However, from an ethical and moral standpoint, I feel that if you are truly a friend to the person you want to write about, you would ask them. Again, suicide is insanely personal, and no offense but it simply is not about other people in most cases. It seems a little bit insensitive and perhaps even exploitative to use something that was not meant to affect you in any way as a point for your admissions essay without getting permission first.
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No idea if they’re still a friend. Appreciate your perspective. I disagree. That said I’d likely choose a much lighter topic.
I agree with houndsharkk on this. Honestly, the topic makes me feel a bit icky (the concern about exploiting a friend’s personal crisis for essay fodder). Obviously, other people may feel differently. The thing is you don’t know how the person reading the essay is going to react to this topic, which means it may be better to choose something else. I would avoid it. Just my opinion.
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deleting: emotional topic for some of us… suicide and attempts can have a profound effect on others. I’ll leave it at that.
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