Acceptable DIVERSITY statement topic?? Forum

[abovethelaw]

Hey everyone!

Like many, I am struggling to come up with a good DS topic. I am a white, middle-class, wanna-be lawyer, so I would have to go in a different direction. I was wondering if you all thought the following could qualify as "diversity" if I spin them in the right way.

A few years back, I made a major lifestyle change. I was approaching 250 lbs, so I went on an intense diet/exercise regimen and got down to 140 lbs in about a year. I struggled with my weight for most of my life, but this experience changed my outlook in several ways. I learned that I have control over the things I want to change and that a determined mind can overcome great obstacles.

Is this approach a bit too "thin" for a DS topic (no pun intended)?

I was also considering discussing a unique academic interest of mine. After my study abroad program, I became highly interested in the inner-workings of the European Union. This pet interest eventually took over a great deal of my academic career. I have since assisted my professor with EU-related research, obtained a minor concentration in "European Union Studies," and become vice president of my school's European Union club. At an American school, not many people study the EU, and I know that learning about it has given me a unique approach to the way I view world politics and social interactions (Europeans see many issues differently than Americans; studying Europe so much has made me very sympathetic toward this perspective).

Do unique academic interests not really qualify as diversity either?

Final question: if neither of these topics really work, am I better off not writing a DS? I have heard widely differing opinions on whether or not you "should" write one. Thanks in advance!

[Nova]

Your interest in the EU is a no-go.

Losing over 100 lbs is acceptably diverse, IMO.