Should I mention my insecurities in "greatest struggle" secondary question

[Josh138]

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Hi everyone,

I just wanted everyone's opinion on how they feel about mentioning insecurities on these "greatest obstacles you had to overcome" secondary question such as the following from Case Western:

The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe the greatest personal challenge you have faced which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a time when you felt you were "in over your head," or a time when you felt personally criticized. You may also discuss a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you may have learned about yourself.

Would it be a bad idea to mention about how I overcame my insecurities about my teeth? I have a few gapped/chipped teeth that I could never fix because of financial reasons and eventually this started to chip away at my own self confidence in high school and college. It was so bad that I was afraid to smile because I didn't want to show my teeth to others. There was even times during high school when I was frustrated at the fact that I didn't have the financial means to fix it.

However, I learned to overcome it by realizing that certain things are out of my control and learning not to be a victim of what society defines as "beautiful." I could not use my teeth as an excuse for being shy and passive, instead it gave me a reason to work harder to slowly take the initiative and to be positive remind myself of the good character traits about myself. Fast forward to now and I can now say that I have come a long way in overcoming this insecurity of mine to the point that in college people have known me as the guy who always likes to smile and joke around.

 

[iianb]

I think it is too broad to explain. It also dates back to high school/ You might have so many instances to refer to that it could be difficult or even unnecessary. I wouldn't do it.

 

[milkphlegm]

Hm, I think I disagree with the above poster. I think it could be an inspiring story, and it does show growth, acceptance, and personality. Of course, as with many other instances, it needs to be written well to portray exactly those qualities, but I'd go for it I think. I'm interested to hear other opinions too!

 

[Jennyfishy]

Body Image/Appearance issues (in my opinion) can be interesting, because it shows how much of an effect that having such unrealistic/standardized standards of beauty can have on people as a child/continue to affect them in the future.

But at the same time, I could see this as being very easily misinterpreted by AdComs as "stretching" a story too much to answer a prompt (I may not necessarily believe this, but try to see how others may scoff or dismiss such an idea).

I'm hesitant to tell you to go for it or to rethink it, since I'm not expect though 😛

 

[medschoolmyname]

My honest opinion would be to try and talk about some other challenge. Not that your teeth dilemma wasn't a challenge but there must be something in your life you consider to be more of a challenge than the way your teeth looked, the exception is if you were made fun of or ridiculed due to your appearance. But if its really just an insecurity its not really a challenge because all of us as teenagers in high school had our insecurities. Im sorry if I am coming off as mean or anything that isn't my intent its just some adcoms will surely dismiss this story as one of your major challenges. Also the challenge you talk about doesn't have to be something specifically about you, it could be about a family member or a friend and the difficult position you were put in because of their situation. Example for me is when my best friend who was a fitness freak and I watched him decline to the point of barely able to walk due to cancer. It was a challenge for me to accept that such a thing could happen to someone like him. Hope this helps.

 

[Josh138]

Bump! Was just wondering if anyone else had any more thoughts to share.

And thanks to those who shared and do not worry, I am not offended by anyone's comments because I appreciate your honest and direct feedback.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

I would steer clear of talking about your teeth in an essay about your "greatest struggle." It would be a tough sell, imo.

 

[sc91]

I think it actually works pretty well in this situation. Even though it isn't grandiose, it is still personal to you, and is something that you believe has greatly affected you as a person. They put in the prompt "a situation of personal adversity" and I think your situation fits that. Also, it does paint a picture about who you are. Just my two cents 🙂.

 

[mybubbles627]

I wouldn't do it. To me this isn't a real challenge that you overcame.

 

[deleted303591]

The prompt is tricky and the adcoms are fishing for weed-outs, clearly.

This is not a challenge that you are facing, which was asked for in the prompt.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/challenge

4. A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking

You are going to have to "craft" this challenge. I would recommend a "dear diary" approach to the prompt. You could start out the essay with "dear diary"...

 

[lazyindy]

On this topic, Can I talk about how I was called a terrorist by many people when I was younger shortly after 9/11? And how I overcame the challenge? Or would this be far too controversial?

 

[deleted303591]

On this topic, Can I talk about how I was called a terrorist by many people when I was younger shortly after 9/11? And how I overcame the challenge? Or would this be far too controversial?

Harassment and discrimination issues are a touchy subject.

It certainly puts the adcoms on guard.

I would not recommend for that reason, although such a topic would otherwise be great.

Also, you cannot "fix" the people abusing you, you can only "cope" with this issue. Therefore, this is not much of a challenge and would be difficult to write about.

 

[medguy13]

The prompt is tricky and the adcoms are fishing for weed-outs, clearly.

This is not a challenge that you are facing, which was asked for in the prompt.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/challenge

4. A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking

You are going to have to "craft" this challenge. I would recommend a "dear diary" approach to the prompt. You could start out the essay with "dear diary"...

The prompt clearly states "Examples may include a time when you felt you were "in over your head," or a time when you felt personally criticized."

The word challenge is very broad, and I'd say what the OP described could absolutely be considered a challenge.

 

[deleted303591]

The prompt clearly states "Examples may include a time when you felt you were "in over your head," or a time when you felt personally criticized."

The word challenge is very broad, and I'd say what the OP described could absolutely be considered a challenge.

Thank you for the clarification. I hope your advice is useful for both the OP and the person I quoted about racism faced after 9/11.

To that individual, you have my greatest sympathy. Some of my friends were discriminated for similar reasons as you, and such harassment should never be tolerated.