Unsure about personal statement topic Forum

[Anonymous User]

The personal statement I am writing has to be about a valuable learning experience.

The topic I am considering is kind of difficult to write about and I can't tell if it is appropriate or not.

One of my parents was diagnosed with cancer and I spent two semesters traveling back and forth from school to spend time with them. Two surgeries were involved as well as radiation therapy all over a period of 6 months. It had a strong impact on me emotionally and academically. It showed me you have to be prepared for anything as well as be able to adjust to bad circumstances and respond to adversity.

Would this be worthy of writing about in regard to a valuable learning experience in life?

[mmbt123]

I definitely think so as long as those lessons have a good connection to why you'd be a successful lawyer and student.

[rinkrat19]

Could be great, IF you manage to successfully walk the line between two potential pitfalls:
1. Making the essay about your ill parent, not about you.
2. Making it sound like you were the one inconvenienced, when your parent is the one who had cancer.

The balancing act can be tricky. Make sure some uninvolved people (like TLSers) read it, because sometimes a totally unintentional angle comes through and the writer can't see it.

[bluepenguin]

Could be great, IF you manage to successfully walk the line between two potential pitfalls:
1. Making the essay about your ill parent, not about you.
2. Making it sound like you were the one inconvenienced, when your parent is the one who had cancer.

Possibly
3. Using it as an excuse for bad grades.

Trying that could work, or it could not work. For my money, the impact that could have on your grades would go without saying.

[Anonymous User]

The way that I am writing it shows that I was deeply, emotionally impacted by the event and that I initially felt sorry for myself for having to endure it.

Then I went into detail saying what I had to endure was nothing compared to what my parent had to endure and that I learned a life lesson from the strength that they showed in the face of adversity.

My goal was not to talk about myself, but to mainly focus on the lesson I learned from the potential loss of a parent and how their response to the unpredictable hardship led me to change my perception on life in general.

That is what is so tricky because I do not want to make it seem like I am the victim or that I am using my parent's disease to gain leverage in any way. I am trying to illustrate the life lesson and how self pity is not an option when it comes to overcoming tough situations.

Thank you all for the input btw!

[bluepenguin]

Sounds good to me.