Should I add this DS? Forum

[Cartman]

Hey folks,

So, here's my question: I've sent almost all of my apps out already, with a few exceptions. Several of the apps I've sent out have offered an attachment for a diversity statement, which I didn't add. However, generally speaking most schools will add a statement for you if you email them and ask them politely to attach one for you. Would it be worth asking a few of my reach and semi-reach schools to attach this DS for me?

Also, we all know diversity statements don't necessarily have to be about race, ethnicity, or discrimination. Instead, I decided to focus on obstacles in my life that I needed to overcome in order to be where I am today. I don't want to leave a bad impression about the admissions committee's, or leave any doubt in their mind that I couldn't handle law school. Instead, I see the obstacles I overcame as evidence of my continuing commitment to education.

I appreciate in advance for the help.
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Overcoming Obstacles

At the age of 12 I developed and was diagnosed with OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder in response to my mother and step-father finding methamphetamine. As they became horribly addicted and my life began a chaotic downward spiral, my obsessions and compulsive behavior became the one aspect of certainty in an otherwise uncertain life. As I became more and more debilitated socially, mentally, and emotionally, forced into rituals and mantras I could not control, I was eventually hospitalized on an outpatient basis at a psychiatric ward in order to help me overcome my problems. Halfway through eighth grade I dropped out of school, unable to cope as I watched one of my parents struggle with addiction, and the emotional, physical, and mental abuses bestowed upon her because of it. After being home-schooled for the remainder of my eighth grade year, I began my high school career in an alternative, county high school, only to drop out again as the situation deteriorated at home. Eventually, reduced to traveling between northern and southern California while living out of cars and domestic violence shelters, my life found stability again when I moved in with my uncle in northern California, where I would enroll in a normal high school and finally begin to rebuild my life.
It was a slow and arduous process, but I sought professional help for my obsessive-compulsive disorder and I made my education a priority. I needed to accept that I could not control my mothers or my stepfather’s behavior, but what I could control was my life and my actions. I reflect upon these events not to illicit feelings of sympathy, for I have no regrets about the decisions I made or those that were made for me. They shaped the individual that I am today. Instead, I reflect upon these events to illuminate some of the major obstacles in my life that I have had to overcome to be where I am now- as a motivated, determined, and resilient student seeking to further my intellectual career. I also know that these events have given me the unique opportunity to share my experiences, my triumphs, and my failures with my peers, fostering a greater understanding of overcoming obstacles.

[cutecarmel]

I like it. However, I would put more emphasis on how your were able to "overcome"/ deal with your problems adn how that struggle has made you stronger.

Good luck!

[Cartman]

Great thanks! I'll rework it a little bit more and see what I come up with. Anymore comments?

[roguewave19]

Definitely include this as a DS, it makes you stand out and puts your accomplishments in a different light. Focus a bit more on how you got to where you are today.

[imjustjoking22]

Definitely include this as a DS, it makes you stand out and puts your accomplishments in a different light. Focus a bit more on how you got to where you are today.

I agree, include it.