<p>Hello all - Boston University is my absolute dream school, and the common app just came out.</p>
<p>I am reviewing the essay topics and thinking about which one I should choose. Considering I am going to be applying early decision this fall, I think it’d be best if I decided which topic to write about.</p>
<p>Im torn between the “evaluate a significant experience you have faced and explained how it impacted you” or “choose your own topic”</p>
<p>Basically, I’d like to write about how growing up with a dad who had brain cancer (he passed away), and a grandmother with alzheimer’s shaped me differently than most would expect. I want to talk about how the two experiences made me mature faster than some people, and that the psychological effects of dealing with these problems effected me much differently than most would assume. For example, having a grandmother with alzheimer’s disease was a much more difficult problem to deal with for me compared to coping with my dad passing away from brain cancer.</p>
<p>It’s almost impossible to explain this mindset on a forum, but to get my point across effectively, I am going to try. Dealing with a dad who has terminal cancer was easier than dealing with a grand mom who has alzheimer’s disease…for me at least - it sounds cruel, but by the time he got it when I was 14 my mom already had a heart attack, and my dad was hospitalized on and off for several years because of a bad leg infection and esophageal cancer. Dealing with my dad’s problem was easier than a lot would assume because there’s always that possibility of hope - cancer is sometimes cured with surgery, or sometimes radiation just works. It’s much different than how movies portray it, and instead of cancer being the elephant in the room, it just starts feeling like a natural part of your life.</p>
<p>Alzheimer’s disease, however, is completely different. In alzheimer’s, there is no hope. With cancer, you always have that thought that “tomorrow might be better than today”. With alzheimer’s, tomorrow will not be better than today. Alzheimer’s just gets worst - no ifs, ands, or buts. There is no treatment, and nothing to stop the progression. Alzheimer’s is just a downhill slope. While cancer always has that slither of hope looming in the shadow’s, alzheimer’s guarantees nothing but a darker path as time goes on.</p>
<p>So a lot of people will often tell me “I’m sure you appreciate life more because of your dad”, or "It must be difficult for you because of your dad. But the truth is, I appreciate life more because of alzheimer’s disease, which is ten times less threatening, and in some eyes, less serious than brain cancer. While alzheimer’s doesn’t kill you like cancer does, it doesn’t offer the hope of maybe getting better like cancer does. </p>
<p>Dealing with my dad and his brain cancer made me just realize, “Sh** happens.” There was no explanation to why he got it, or how he got it. It was hard, he was my best friend, but going to the hospital to see him just became part of my daily routine - I never viewed it as a struggle, or a chore. But dealing with alzheimer’s, that’s a struggle. You know it’s never getting better.</p>
<p>SORRY for the beast of text, but which topic do you think I should write about for my essay, given my interest of writing.</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated - thanks.</p>