Thoughts on Adversity Essay Topics?

[jqfk]

Hey everyone! Im currently writing out my secondaries and I have a few options for my adversity essay, but I’m not sure which one makes the most sense or is the most impactful to others. I would really really appreciate any advice at all. Thank you so much!!

-As a first-generation son of Syrian immigrants, growing up I felt like I was not able to connect to either part of my identity. My parents raised me within Syrian culture, which made me feel alienated from my peers. This led me to grow up extremely shy and afraid of reaching out to others for fear of rejection. A family friends asked me to join youth group with other Syrian-Americans and by talking to others I learned to view my diverse background as a strength and learned the importance of respecting and empathizing with someone’s background so they feel heard and included. Eventually I gained more confidence and began to work with members of my own community and began practicing Spanish to work with the local Latino community in Skid Row.

-When I was a teenager, I was sitting in the living room with my parents one day and my dogs started barking. I thought it was nothing at first and habitually looked through the backyard window as I was used to doing whenever they barked. However, this time I saw a strange man in the backyard walking around looking disheveled. I immediately told my parents and took my dogs and my sister to my room and locked the door. I had to help my sister and my dogs calm down while also feeling scared myself. I kept my emotions under control because I knew that my little sister depended on me being calm and collected. (Can kinda relate this to controlling emotions when dealing with stress as a doctor?)

-(Another first generation essay). As the son of immigrants and the first in my family to attend and graduate from college, I was not given a clear path or guidance on what I needed to do. I had to figure things out such as how to apply to college or what I needed to do to attend medical school. I focused on building connections throughout high school and college and realized that the support and guidance of others is essential in life. I aimed to help guide others using what I learned by working as a youth instructor and a tutor

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[Mr.Smile12]

What did you write for Other Impactful Experiences?

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What are you writing about your diversity or contributing to diversity for your student community?

 

[jqfk]

What did you write for Other Impactful Experiences?

The Weather on Your Application Journey - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

What are you writing about your diversity or contributing to diversity for your student community?

For my Other Impactful Experiences i wrote about the impact that being a first generation Syrian-American had on me both in the context of the social stigma that my family faced in the era of 9/11 which led to difficulty interacting with others, and similar to what I wrote above about learning to navigate my education without any guidance. I also talked about needing to work since I was 17 in order to support my family, but I didn’t dive too deep into the effects that it had on me.

For my diversity essay I have a few options.
-I can use one of the stories from my adversity essay like growing up surrounded by Syrian culture and the cultural barriers I learned to overcome when interacting with my peers. I learned to appreciate different backgrounds and it helped me become a more well-rounded person and empathize with others.
-I am from Los Angeles where there is a large population of undocumented immigrants, many of whom are homeless. I work at an after school program for homeless and disadvantaged elementary-school age children in Skid Row. A majority of these children speak almost no English and only Spanish. While I am practicing my Spanish, there are times it is difficult to communicate with one another. I found that there are ways other than verbal to bridge the communication gap and create a bond with one another, such as teaching them how to play basketball using physical demonstrations or teaching each other songs in our language.
-I used to be a Scout Leader for a troop almost exclusively consisting of Middle-Eastern children. I would create activities and educational lessons for them using things that I learned throughout my life, such as how to apply to college or how to properly apply first aid.

 

[LindaAccepted]

For my Other Impactful Experiences i wrote about the impact that being a first generation Syrian-American had on me both in the context of the social stigma that my family faced in the era of 9/11 which led to difficulty interacting with others, and similar to what I wrote above about learning to navigate my education without any guidance. I also talked about needing to work since I was 17 in order to support my family, but I didn’t dive too deep into the effects that it had on me.

For my diversity essay I have a few options.
-I can use one of the stories from my adversity essay like growing up surrounded by Syrian culture and the cultural barriers I learned to overcome when interacting with my peers. I learned to appreciate different backgrounds and it helped me become a more well-rounded person and empathize with others.
-I am from Los Angeles where there is a large population of undocumented immigrants, many of whom are homeless. I work at an after school program for homeless and disadvantaged elementary-school age children in Skid Row. A majority of these children speak almost no English and only Spanish. While I am practicing my Spanish, there are times it is difficult to communicate with one another. I found that there are ways other than verbal to bridge the communication gap and create a bond with one another, such as teaching them how to play basketball using physical demonstrations or teaching each other songs in our language.
-I used to be a Scout Leader for a troop almost exclusively consisting of Middle-Eastern children. I would create activities and educational lessons for them using things that I learned throughout my life, such as how to apply to college or how to properly apply first aid.

Since you already wrote about the challenges you faced as the child of Syrian immigrants, why don't you write about your experience working with children on skid row who speak no English and also aren't from the Middle East?

 

[jqfk]

Since you already wrote about the challenges you faced as the child of Syrian immigrants, why don't you write about your experience working with children on skid row who speak no English and also aren't from the Middle East?

That’s true I should probably diversify a bit! I assume you mean write about working with children for the diversity essay, correct?

 

[LindaAccepted]

That’s true I should probably diversify a bit! I assume you mean write about working with children for the diversity essay, correct?

Yes. or whenever it will answer the question.

My main point is that you want to show you've worked cross-culturally and have more than one story to tell. You are a multi-dimensional human being who can bring your experience as the child of immigrants to help immigrant children from a different culture and in really difficult situations.. Show your multi-dimensionality.