u/Johnnnnn23242526

Everything is either conflicting or useless.

i've heard:

"it is okay to show you are introverted, you have to show your true self and vulnerable"

but also

"demonstrating introversion reflects poorly on you because the AO wants someone who brings something positive"

...

"the AO wants to learn how you can contribute to the college"

while most successful essays you can find online are about things like culture, dealing with failure, etc.

...

"you shouldn't write a sob story about your struggles or trauma"

while there are also many successful essays about these things. i remember seeing one from a student that wrote about being paralyzed and having deformities on every limb which got them accepted into like every ivy and was published by nyt. or one about someone's dead family member who got into every ivy as well. and... costco essay 🫩

...

"you should be honest and vulnerable"

while so many essays are most definitely extremely exaggerated or contain straight up lies about what someone said, how much they care about a topic, how they felt during a specific moment, etc.

...

i could keep on like this for a while longer, but i think you see my point.

i do think that the advisors/admissions coaches/whoever else is giving this advice probably does believe in it, and i will likely receive comments on this post from said people about how i am wrong, misinterpreting advice, or something of that sort.

genuinely, no advice ive seen has helped at all with the essay, whether on reddit, instagram, youtube, or even in school, and im just getting so tired of it. every time i go to work on my wss and try to be productive, i sit there for like an hour trying to think of a topic, i end up being unable to, and then i give up.

and to add, i am not trying to hate on those who give advice, and i am still thankful for them at least trying to help, since i know their advice probably does truly help some people.

its late and im tired, so maybe im just getting unreasonably frustrated, idk.

so i've been struggling for a while now to come up with a college essay. because of that, i went on youtube and started doing a bunch of exercises from channels like the college essay guy to try and come up with some ideas. a recurring theme throughout every exercise i have completed is my introversion. i like taking walks/biking so i can be alone. i like cooking when i am alone. i like being alone to watch movies, or to watch videos on youtube. i tend to be the most productive when im alone.

what i am wondering is if this would be okay to write about, or if it would reflect poorly on myself. ive seen multiple essays on shifting from an introvert to an extrovert, where the student's original introversion was framed as a negative, and ive seen people online say that it could come off as a negative since a major part of college is connecting with others.

additionally, i feel even if i don't write directly about being an introvert, and instead about one of my hobbies that i mentioned above, it would feel like i am hiding the full picture if ignored this aspect of them.

thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

so i've been struggling for a while now to come up with a college essay. because of that, i went on youtube and started doing a bunch of exercises from channels like the college essay guy to try and come up with some ideas. a recurring theme throughout every exercise i have completed is my introversion. i like taking walks/biking so i can be alone. i like cooking when i am alone. i like being alone to watch movies, or to watch videos on youtube. i tend to be the most productive when im alone.

what i am wondering is if this would be okay to write about, or if it would reflect poorly on myself. ive seen multiple essays on shifting from an introvert to an extrovert, where the student's original introversion was framed as a negative, and ive seen people online say that it could come off as a negative since a major part of college is connecting with others.

additionally, i feel even if i don't write directly about being an introvert, and instead about one of my hobbies that i mentioned above, it would feel like i am hiding the full picture if ignored this aspect of them.

thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

like everyone else right now, i am scrambling now to work on my college app/essay. the common app stuff was all relatively easy to get done because all the info you need for stuff like the activities list or honors are pretty straightforward, but the essay has been torturing me. i've gone through two drafts already, and scrapped both. the first was because it was really just a shitty topic and i wrote in a way that felt inauthentic. the second i gave up on because it felt too honest, specifically in a way that reflected poorly on myself.

all that being said, i really need to find a new topic. i've kinda lost motivation after the first two failed drafts, and have been able to come up with anything. obviously you don't know anything personally about me, so i'm not asking for specific topic ideas, just general advice.

for added context, i feel my main issues in writing the personal statement are that i struggle to write vulnerably, and that i honestly feel that even if i could manage to be vulnerable, it wouldn't be the type of personality that the admissions officer would want to see. basically all of my hobbies are geared towards being away from other people. i don't have some super niche interest or fear of rectangles. i haven't had some massive transformation in my character. i don't have any interesting cultural background.

i also, stubbornly so, refuse to write any of those bullshit extended metaphor essays about how stickers reflect different parts of my life or something. or really any of those types of essays that have that college essay, corny sounding writing. even if i could manage to write a good essay like that, i genuinely hate that style of writing and feel it is against my standards to write in that way.

the last thing ill say is that although i never have really enjoyed writing, i am at least decent at it if i have more guidelines and am writing about something aside from myself.

i know this turned into a bit of a rant, so thanks if you read this all. i would really appreciate some help.

like everyone else right now, i am scrambling now to work on my college app/essay. the common app stuff was all relatively easy to get done because all the info you need for stuff like the activities list or honors are pretty straightforward, but the essay has been torturing me. i've gone through two drafts already, and scrapped both. the first was because it was really just a shitty topic and i wrote in a way that felt inauthentic. the second i gave up on because it felt too honest, specifically in a way that reflected poorly on myself.

all that being said, i really need to find a new topic. i've kinda lost motivation after the first two failed drafts, and have been able to come up with anything. obviously you don't know anything personally about me, so i'm not asking for specific topic ideas, just general advice.

for added context, i feel my main issues in writing the personal statement are that i struggle to write vulnerably, and that i honestly feel that even if i could manage to be vulnerable, it wouldn't be the type of personality that the admissions officer would want to see. basically all of my hobbies are geared towards being away from other people. i don't have some super niche interest or fear of rectangles. i haven't had some massive transformation in my character. i don't have any interesting cultural background.

i also, stubbornly so, refuse to write any of those bullshit extended metaphor essays about how stickers reflect different parts of my life or something. or really any of those types of essays that have that college essay, corny sounding writing. even if i could manage to write a good essay like that, i genuinely hate that style of writing and feel it is against my standards to write in that way.

the last thing ill say is that although i never have really enjoyed writing, i am at least decent at it if i have more guidelines and am writing about something aside from myself.

i know this turned into a bit of a rant, so thanks if you read this all. i would really appreciate some help.

I recently learned about HRR and that I could view it on my Apple Watch, and was surprised when I saw my average HRR when I play tennis is 63.5 bpm, with my all time high being 85 bpm. I understand higher is better, but 85 seems too high...