Was hoping to get some feedback and advice on potential prompts:
1) Running cross country- I joined freshman year of high school, and realized I was never going to be one of the fastest on the team. I was initially disheartened but instead of comparing myself to others I changed my idea of who my opponent was, and made it myself, i.e., my goal ws to beat my previous time versus come in first in the race. I stuck with xc all four years with increasingly faster race times (but I was never top 7 or even top 15~ probably wont include this but I while i did get better I didn't excel). And I continued running throughout college and it's a serious hobby of mine. I like this prompt the most because I think it shows resilience and is something I continued into college, and what was a weakness of mine, running, I now consider a strength. But I'm worried that the fact that the initial adversity I face occurs in high school makes it a weaker idea.
2) I travelled to Italy one summer by myself for a research internship, and had to navigate by myself speaking a foreign language (I had taken up to intermediate Italian prior, but had severely underestimated the difference in learning/speaking a language in a classroom versus native tongue). I ended up having a really good summer and became much more proficient in Italian. This is also a pretty good prompt for facing adversity, but I use the Italian idea in my diversity essay. So for those schools that ask for a diversity and adversity, I would use prompt 1 (in theory), and for those that only ask for adversity, I could use this one (unless consensus is that prompt 1 or 3 is better)
3) Watching a loved one grow old/ deteriorate. Growing up I had, and still have, a great and really special relationship with my grandpa, but over the past 5 or so years I have seen his age catch up with him. He walks slower, uses a cane now, and sometimes he takes a little longer to gather his thoughts. This one I think is good, but something that almost everybody faces at some point in time. Not sure if that makes it a good idea because it's relatable, or a weaker one because it's not "unique"
What do you guys think? Any advice is really appreciated, I want to start writing these but am hesitant for some reason, and I think that getting some feedback/push from others will give me some motivation!
1) Running cross country- I joined freshman year of high school, and realized I was never going to be one of the fastest on the team. I was initially disheartened but instead of comparing myself to others I changed my idea of who my opponent was, and made it myself, i.e., my goal ws to beat my previous time versus come in first in the race. I stuck with xc all four years with increasingly faster race times (but I was never top 7 or even top 15~ probably wont include this but I while i did get better I didn't excel). And I continued running throughout college and it's a serious hobby of mine. I like this prompt the most because I think it shows resilience and is something I continued into college, and what was a weakness of mine, running, I now consider a strength. But I'm worried that the fact that the initial adversity I face occurs in high school makes it a weaker idea.
2) I travelled to Italy one summer by myself for a research internship, and had to navigate by myself speaking a foreign language (I had taken up to intermediate Italian prior, but had severely underestimated the difference in learning/speaking a language in a classroom versus native tongue). I ended up having a really good summer and became much more proficient in Italian. This is also a pretty good prompt for facing adversity, but I use the Italian idea in my diversity essay. So for those schools that ask for a diversity and adversity, I would use prompt 1 (in theory), and for those that only ask for adversity, I could use this one (unless consensus is that prompt 1 or 3 is better)
3) Watching a loved one grow old/ deteriorate. Growing up I had, and still have, a great and really special relationship with my grandpa, but over the past 5 or so years I have seen his age catch up with him. He walks slower, uses a cane now, and sometimes he takes a little longer to gather his thoughts. This one I think is good, but something that almost everybody faces at some point in time. Not sure if that makes it a good idea because it's relatable, or a weaker one because it's not "unique"
What do you guys think? Any advice is really appreciated, I want to start writing these but am hesitant for some reason, and I think that getting some feedback/push from others will give me some motivation!
