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What I've learned from trying to write a personal statement...
LSATcantwin
Alum Member Sage ⭐
I am the worlds most boring individual.
https://media.giphy.com/media/Dbo31UlQgVIdO/giphy.gif
So...how did you guys decided what to write about? The obvious choice for me is to write about the military, but that feels like such a cop out. I've tried to brainstorm other, more interesting ideas, but I'm basically the king of boring town. How did you get the juices flowing?
Comments
I also felt like my topic was a cop out. So I just started writing whatever came to my mind. However, after writing about 6 different versions of what would become my PS, it began to evolve into something a bit more idiosyncratic and less cliché.
I dealt with the same exact issue. I've read so many personal statements about interesting experiences that I couldn't help but ask, "What the hell have I done with my life?!"
Nevertheless, although my PS isn't done, I personally think I managed to write a decent essay based on my relatively mundane experiences. It focused a lot on how that experience fostered internal/personal growth. If you'd like, I can send you my PS.
We all are!
But aren't you a veteran? How can a veteran be the world's most boring individual?
I had a specific life event that caused me to seriously consider going to law school and after a year of thinking about it lead me to take a leap and do it so I'll be writing about that event. If you're having a little trouble I came across this Huffpost article that had a useful suggestion:
Approach your friends and family for assistance. Several strong questions to get you started include: If you had to describe me in three words, which three words would you pick? What are the most interesting/compelling stories you can remember about me? What kind of person do you think I will be in 50 years? How have I changed since we first met? The answers to these questions may surprise you, and will, at the very least, give you a glimpse into another’s perception of your actions — a very helpful consideration when drafting a personal statement. Use what you learn as a jumping-off point for a draft of your essay.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/chuck-cohn/how-to-choose-a-topic-for_b_4742120.html
I'm writing about the 3 seconds I KNEW, I mean KNEW I was about to die when my vehicle hit a decoy IED, and the moment it dawned on me that I was never going to be in the infantry again and how both of those two moments, in the long run, changed my life for the better.
Wow that's going to be one interesting read!
You'd be surprised how mundane life can be in parts of the military haha. I mean I was even deployed and life still was fairly dull!
The USMC is 3 years 11 months 29 days of dullness and 1 day of excitement.
I think the usual advice of starting with major life events for essay topics can actually be counterintuitive. Remember, the event itself is arbitrary: what you learned from it and how it reflects who you are is what matters. The circumstances are merely a vehicle used to reflect those characteristics in a narrative fashion.
Try this: look at some random object in your room. Maybe it's a computer, maybe it's a bag of chips, maybe it's an eraser shaving sitting next to your keyboard. The more mundane the better. Now, consider your relationship with that object. Where did it come from? How did it end up in your possession? What actions or feelings or personality traits indirectly led you to have that object at this time in that position.
Eraser shavings could be from a pencil that you "borrowed" from a classmate, used to write notes for a history class whose professor drives you nuts.
Is the bag of chips scrunched up, or is it folded neatly with a clip holding it together? Did you eat straight out of the bag, or did you portion out a serving size and eat out of a snack bowl?
Everything we do and touch reflects who we are in some indirect manner. If a speck of dust can indirectly reveal something about you, the potential implications and insights from any life event are 100-fold.
tl;dr DONT think of an interesting story and then figure out how to turn it into a reflective essay. INSTEAD, come up with something (anything) you want to convey to the admissions team, and weld together stories/examples (no matter how boring) that fit the message you're trying to communicate. Boring examples can make for an interesting essay if they're used to drive an underlying idea.
I think every single one of us is uniquely boring! lol
So don’t worry!
Me too...I wrote about that.
Cool; how did your PS turn out?
I struggled BIG time with my PS. I have this huge thing my life thats the obvious choice, but I just couldn't write it. Literally 18 different drafts and every single one came off as dramatic, pissed off or disinterested. So, I made a list of the 10 hardest things i've done in the last two years. Everything from constant car problems, a killer finals week, and raising an orphaned infant kitten.
Guess whose applying to law school with a kitten PS.
I also think you should make a list of qualities you want to exude. Who do you want them to think you are by the end. If it's passionate, quick thinking and responsible then you need to pick a personal statement topic that show cases moments where you were like that. I wanted to come off as responsible, capable and self aware. Surprisingly, my kitten story nailed every one of those moments.
It was edited by David Busis, so I think....I hope.... it's ok. lol
I'll let you know if I miraculously get accepted to reach schools because of my PS
haha! ok sounds good; when are you applying? I'm not applying until next year .. although now that I am doing LG I am realizing how long fool proofing will be
I'm trying not to get discouraged about the possibility of my timeline having to be adjusted in the future.
I felt like you before I wrote my PS. I thought I was so boring and would have nothing to write about. But I got to thinking and I went through an experience that, although not unique in my community, I think is not a frequent experience that lots of law students have gone through.
Just sit down, start thinking about all the crap you have gone through and how something in your life makes you unique.
@AnthonyScalia This is really solid advice, thank you so much. This is hopefully what will help me break through.
@TheMikey I think what is happening is, each time I think of something that makes me unique, I compare myself to others who have it worse/struggled more/whatever and it makes me feel like I have nothing to write about because I'm so relatively okay. You know what I mean?
@Victoria14 That sound's like a unique and interesting subject! I think it'll serve you very well.
@tringo335 I just can't nail down an event that changed my life, other than the Marine Corps, but I don't want to be that guy that just falls on the "I'm a vet, do things for me" card. I want to show the law schools that, while I am a vet, I'm also unique and well suited for the task!
Maybe you have to accept that you don't have a 'significant' event but you can still use a story that is unique .... there was one person on one of David's webinars that talked about her experience volunteering at a church group. Doesnt sound very significant at all but when they peeled away the layers and she thought about and was able to write it from a unique vantage point it became very good admission.
You make it sound so easy! haha I'm just being stubborn I can tell. I'll have to find something that works for me.
I think writing about your experiences in the military is a great topic. It obviously had a huge impact on your life, personally and in terms of your academic performance.
LOL I guess I'm being a little biased... I work in PR and a big part of my job is writing 'personal statements' about my company for award submissions I have to take a boring topic and make it sound sexy and appealing every time - you're right it's not easy ..brainstorming and finding an angle takes some time
Shout out to all the vets. Thank You.