boundlesscorpuscle
MD Class of 2023!
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2018
- Messages
- 154
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- 181
Hi there,
So, like many others I am working on secondary essays, and I am stumbling over one of the most common types of prompts, i.e. the challenge/adversity/failure question. My family is pretty firmly in the White, suburban, lower-middle class, so I have been fortunate to lead a relatively privileged life. I am having some trouble coming up with a topic that seems profound enough to write about, so I was hoping for some input.
I apologize ahead of time for the long-winded post. See bottom for the TL;DR
In terms of adversity, I've been floating around the idea of writing about moving a lot as a kid. I moved to Florida from Ohio at the age of 6, and attended three different elementary schools. Although I was fortunate to attend the same middle and high school, my family moved into nine different residences from the time I was 6 to 18. It was tough moving to a middle school in a different city, where everyone else had grown up together. This led to a bit of isolation throughout middle school and leading into high school. The summer before my Junior year of high school, my mom and stepdad moved to a city an hour away (I was in a school choice type program and my dad still lived in the county, so administration let me stay). When I was at my mom's house, I would have to get up around 5 AM to make sure we got to school and work on time, and ended up getting home around 6 or 7 PM each night, which made for some very long days. I know this certainly isn't the worst situation (at least I got to stay in school), but I think it did shape me into a more flexible and resilient person. Would this be appropriate?
In terms of challenges, I think I could similarly write about moving around a lot. But in terms of the "biggest challenge" type of questions, I considered writing about my parents' divorce. My parents separated kind of late in my life (Sophomore year of high school), I it was really hard on me. But this is something that happened years ago now, so I wasn't sure if it would be alright to discuss it. However, I did learn some coping skills and life lessons that I carry with me still. Should I go with it? If not, I do have some more recent challenges that aren't nearly as significant to me personally.
The one I'm having the most difficulty with is the 'time you failed' prompt. The most recent things that come to mind are when 1) I lost track of some important packages at my job as a lab assistant Freshman year of college, and 2) when I failed to interview the required number of patients for an assignment in my medical anthropology research course; I was too nervous to 'cold-call' people in the waiting room, so I ended up having to come back and muster up the courage another time. Would either of these make a compelling story?
I know that for most of the secondary essays, it's really all in how you frame it, and the exact situation is less important than discussing what you've learned/how you cope with difficulties. But, I'm a neurotic premed and would really appreciate anyone's input so I don't come off sounding too naive or woe-is-me.
TL;DR: For the adversity prompt, would moving around a lot as a kid be appropriate? Would my parents' divorce back in HS be good for the "greatest challenge" question? And would losing track of some packages at my lab assistant job in college or failing to approach people for an interview in my medical anthropology course be compelling 'failures' to discuss?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions! I really appreciate all the time and effort everyone puts in here at SDN to help each other out, and I look forward to getting to share some of my tips and advice soon, too!
So, like many others I am working on secondary essays, and I am stumbling over one of the most common types of prompts, i.e. the challenge/adversity/failure question. My family is pretty firmly in the White, suburban, lower-middle class, so I have been fortunate to lead a relatively privileged life. I am having some trouble coming up with a topic that seems profound enough to write about, so I was hoping for some input.
I apologize ahead of time for the long-winded post. See bottom for the TL;DR
In terms of adversity, I've been floating around the idea of writing about moving a lot as a kid. I moved to Florida from Ohio at the age of 6, and attended three different elementary schools. Although I was fortunate to attend the same middle and high school, my family moved into nine different residences from the time I was 6 to 18. It was tough moving to a middle school in a different city, where everyone else had grown up together. This led to a bit of isolation throughout middle school and leading into high school. The summer before my Junior year of high school, my mom and stepdad moved to a city an hour away (I was in a school choice type program and my dad still lived in the county, so administration let me stay). When I was at my mom's house, I would have to get up around 5 AM to make sure we got to school and work on time, and ended up getting home around 6 or 7 PM each night, which made for some very long days. I know this certainly isn't the worst situation (at least I got to stay in school), but I think it did shape me into a more flexible and resilient person. Would this be appropriate?
In terms of challenges, I think I could similarly write about moving around a lot. But in terms of the "biggest challenge" type of questions, I considered writing about my parents' divorce. My parents separated kind of late in my life (Sophomore year of high school), I it was really hard on me. But this is something that happened years ago now, so I wasn't sure if it would be alright to discuss it. However, I did learn some coping skills and life lessons that I carry with me still. Should I go with it? If not, I do have some more recent challenges that aren't nearly as significant to me personally.
The one I'm having the most difficulty with is the 'time you failed' prompt. The most recent things that come to mind are when 1) I lost track of some important packages at my job as a lab assistant Freshman year of college, and 2) when I failed to interview the required number of patients for an assignment in my medical anthropology research course; I was too nervous to 'cold-call' people in the waiting room, so I ended up having to come back and muster up the courage another time. Would either of these make a compelling story?
I know that for most of the secondary essays, it's really all in how you frame it, and the exact situation is less important than discussing what you've learned/how you cope with difficulties. But, I'm a neurotic premed and would really appreciate anyone's input so I don't come off sounding too naive or woe-is-me.
TL;DR: For the adversity prompt, would moving around a lot as a kid be appropriate? Would my parents' divorce back in HS be good for the "greatest challenge" question? And would losing track of some packages at my lab assistant job in college or failing to approach people for an interview in my medical anthropology course be compelling 'failures' to discuss?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions! I really appreciate all the time and effort everyone puts in here at SDN to help each other out, and I look forward to getting to share some of my tips and advice soon, too!
