overwhelmed with secondaries.. need advice

[she-doctorwannabe]

Hello all! I am currently very overwhelmed with secondaries as I feel like I have no idea what to write about. That's why I came here to get your advice on some secondary essay prompts.

Challenge essays: when I was little, we won the green card lottery. Thus, my dad moved to the US when I was nine. My sister and I grew up in Turkey with my mom, and I could see my dad only once a year.. until Skype was invented lol. I had thought that I handled the situation pretty well. However, I recently had the chance to talk to my elementary school teacher, and she told me that it was pretty tough on me. So, I am thinking maybe I could write about this in my essay? As another option, I can also write about the challenges I have faced with when I moved to the US for college. I don't know which one to pick, or if these are too dramatic to write about. Please let me know what you think.

Diversity essays: this is more like a general question- how do you structure these essays? Yeah, I am from another country, grew up in a different culture, and spoke another language at home, but what else do I say? Also, this might sound a little weird, but should I mention that I am Muslim in my essays? I am a little scared that this might bring some bias into the table as the result of recent political events.

Thank you!

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[curbsideconsult]

Hello all! I am currently very overwhelmed with secondaries as I feel like I have no idea what to write about. That's why I came here to get your advice on some secondary essay prompts.

Challenge essays: when I was little, we won the green card lottery. Thus, my dad moved to the US when I was nine. My sister and I grew up in Turkey with my mom, and I could see my dad only once a year.. until Skype was invented lol. I had thought that I handled the situation pretty well. However, I recently had the chance to talk to my elementary school teacher, and she told me that it was pretty tough on me. So, I am thinking maybe I could write about this in my essay? As another option, I can also write about the challenges I have faced with when I moved to the US for college. I don't know which one to pick, or if these are too dramatic to write about. Please let me know what you think.

Diversity essays: this is more like a general question- how do you structure these essays? Yeah, I am from another country, grew up in a different culture, and spoke another language at home, but what else do I say? Also, this might sound a little weird, but should I mention that I am Muslim in my essays? I am a little scared that this might bring some bias into the table as the result of recent political events.

Thank you!

Your challenge essay topics sound fine. They're not too dramatic.

You can mention that you're Muslim if you want to. It's totally up to you. True, it may bias some people against you, but if that does turn out to be the case, do you even want to go to that school??

Keep in mind that anything you write about is fair game so be prepared to talk about these topics eloquently and in great detail.

 

[she-doctorwannabe]

Your challenge essay topics sound fine. They're not too dramatic.

You can mention that you're Muslim if you want to. It's totally up to you. True, it may bias some people against you, but if that does turn out to be the case, do you even want to go to that school??

Keep in mind that anything you write about is fair game so be prepared to talk about these topics eloquently and in great detail.

Yeah, you have a good point. Thank you!

 

[DokterMom]

Balancing your faith as a Muslim in modern America has got to be tricky. Do you wear a headscarf? And if so, how do you handle the ignorance and prejudice you encounter? If not, do you face pressure from family members or other Muslims and how do you handle that?

 

[she-doctorwannabe]

Balancing your faith as a Muslim in modern America has got to be tricky. Do you wear a headscarf? And if so, how do you handle the ignorance and prejudice you encounter? If not, do you face pressure from family members or other Muslims and how do you handle that?

Thanks for your suggestion!
It is actually not as tricky as one might think. I do not wear a headscarf, and I do not face pressure from my family or the Muslim community. However, most people get surprised when I tell them I am Muslim. I believe it is because I don't fit in the norms.
The only challenge I can think of about being a Muslim is that I constantly have to fight against the portrayal of Muslims on the news. However, I think this is a little too political to write about (although I love politics and have a minor in political science )

 

[Goro]

Hello all! I am currently very overwhelmed with secondaries as I feel like I have no idea what to write about. That's why I came here to get your advice on some secondary essay prompts.

Challenge essays: when I was little, we won the green card lottery. Thus, my dad moved to the US when I was nine. My sister and I grew up in Turkey with my mom, and I could see my dad only once a year.. until Skype was invented lol. I had thought that I handled the situation pretty well. However, I recently had the chance to talk to my elementary school teacher, and she told me that it was pretty tough on me. So, I am thinking maybe I could write about this in my essay? As another option, I can also write about the challenges I have faced with when I moved to the US for college. I don't know which one to pick, or if these are too dramatic to write about. Please let me know what you think.

Diversity essays: this is more like a general question- how do you structure these essays? Yeah, I am from another country, grew up in a different culture, and spoke another language at home, but what else do I say? Also, this might sound a little weird, but should I mention that I am Muslim in my essays? I am a little scared that this might bring some bias into the table as the result of recent political events.

Thank you!

I'm not fond of challenge essays that dwell upon what happened when you were a little kid. I'd like to see how you handle adversity as an adult.

For diversity, the immigrant experience is always good fodder, despite what Steven Miller is trying to do to it.

 

[she-doctorwannabe]

I'm not fond of challenge essays that dwell upon what happened when you were a little kid. I'd like to see how you handle adversity as an adult.

For diversity, the immigrant experience is always good fodder, despite what Steven Miller is trying to do to it.

Thank you for your input!
I'd say the biggest adversity I have faced with as an adult is to create a different life from scratch when I moved to the U.S. Maybe I should focus on this?
Yeah, Miller is a nightmare. It is very unfortunate what immigrants are going through at the moment despite all the good things they have to offer for this country.

 

[NOBO]

Be aware that there are many other muslims immigrants who are in similar situations as you. Make sure to make the essay very personal and unique, because merely being an immigrant doesn't translate to diversity.

 

[Goro]

Thank you for your input!
I'd say the biggest adversity I have faced with as an adult is to create a different life from scratch when I moved to the U.S. Maybe I should focus on this?

Yup!