I agree with @gardenstategal - sketch a couple of topics out and see how they work. I have birds and agree they are captivating and could be a good topic. I was working on a homework assignment with my daughter this afternoon in the same room with our parrot and, whenever one of us asked a question, the bird responded “No” very firmly. She obviously catches the upward inflection in questions, but the idea that the bird is paying such close attention to us and studying what we do is really interesting to me. I’m not sure it would be essay material unless I could tie it into what I wanted to study, but maybe there is something there. I think it’s very tempting to try and game the essays and give the AOs what they want, but I can’t help thinking that must be very boring for the AOs. I am inclined to take them at their word that they would rather be surprised, or learn something, or read something that gives them insight into who you are.