Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The people opposed to this only do so because they think race or gender are the only way people identify and they are afraid that being white and cis may hamper their kid's college app.
But it is BS because there are so many ways your identity is defined. Physically, racially, culturally.
My husband wrote his essay on being an only child.
When I read the question from the article, “Tell us about an aspect of your identity or a life experience that has shaped you," I immediately thought of how much of my life has been shaped by my physical disability (missing a limb). In fact, I wrote about this in my college app essay in 1994.
Sorry if it offends you that I was shaped by this, and that I shouldn't have written about it. I know some of you want to believe or downplay the experiences of others as cashing in on "trauma," but you are so far off the mark.
I agree. Would also add that people who experience true trauma, don’t write about it. My dad was shot when I was a kid. Only now do I speak of it… I’m 50. The idea that kids are trotting out trauma for a college essay is a fantasy of boring UMC folks who are dying for a way to get their slightly above average kid to stand out from other slightly above average kids. Your anxiety is showing.
Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say no one who experiences true trauma writes about it. PP above you said she wrote about her trauma for her essay and I would characterize hers as true. But I didn't write about mine for my college application. Maybe now I would, decades later and having processed it more and realized why the F wouldn't I make lemonade out of the lemon life gave me? It certainly has shaped my life and my character.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The people opposed to this only do so because they think race or gender are the only way people identify and they are afraid that being white and cis may hamper their kid's college app.
But it is BS because there are so many ways your identity is defined. Physically, racially, culturally.
My husband wrote his essay on being an only child.
When I read the question from the article, “Tell us about an aspect of your identity or a life experience that has shaped you," I immediately thought of how much of my life has been shaped by my physical disability (missing a limb). In fact, I wrote about this in my college app essay in 1994.
Sorry if it offends you that I was shaped by this, and that I shouldn't have written about it. I know some of you want to believe or downplay the experiences of others as cashing in on "trauma," but you are so far off the mark.
Yup. As always, the people who claim not to want to talk or think about race and gender can’t help but show that they are actually obsessed with it.
white/hetero/athletic/intelligent male:
People look at me and before they know anything about me or my background they think: 'toxic masculinity', 'privilege', 'racist', 'misogynist', 'homophobic', etc. They see the root cause of all that is wrong with society these days apparently. I am a walking billboard for them to direct their hate.
Give us some specific examples of how it's impacted your life.
Anonymous wrote:Everything about college these days...from the admissions process to the day to day culture of what "matters"... seems so backwardass stupid - I'm embarrassed for the administrators and the parents buying into it all....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what it means not to partake in "identification". Are you saying that your kid refuses to answer questions about their gender, or religion, or nationality, or family status or hobbies?
Everyone I know identifies as something.
If you're a white male, cis/het, not religious, UMC, family been here a long time and intermixed (generic European), truly what is there to say?
I'm not in this category but I feel like these Qs should be optional. Otherwise it is very cringe and fake.
Just off the top of my head, if given the prompt in the article, my white male high school student who is cis/het, Catholic, either MC or UMC depending on who you ask, and whose family has been here for many generations could write about the following:
1) His identity as a musician, and his decision to step back from athletics to pursue music.
2) His identity as a Catholic who doesn't always agree with choices that the Catholic church has made, or with choices made by individual Catholics in the name of Catholicism.
3) His lived experience as a Special Olympics coach and the skills he learned in that setting.
4) His lived experience as his grandfather's grandchild, and the things he learned from him.
I could go on, but it's really not that hard to come up with things to write about.
Anonymous wrote:Everything about college these days...from the admissions process to the day to day culture of what "matters"... seems so backwardass stupid - I'm embarrassed for the administrators and the parents buying into it all....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what it means not to partake in "identification". Are you saying that your kid refuses to answer questions about their gender, or religion, or nationality, or family status or hobbies?
Everyone I know identifies as something.
If you're a white male, cis/het, not religious, UMC, family been here a long time and intermixed (generic European), truly what is there to say?
I'm not in this category but I feel like these Qs should be optional. Otherwise it is very cringe and fake.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The people opposed to this only do so because they think race or gender are the only way people identify and they are afraid that being white and cis may hamper their kid's college app.
But it is BS because there are so many ways your identity is defined. Physically, racially, culturally.
My husband wrote his essay on being an only child.
When I read the question from the article, “Tell us about an aspect of your identity or a life experience that has shaped you," I immediately thought of how much of my life has been shaped by my physical disability (missing a limb). In fact, I wrote about this in my college app essay in 1994.
Sorry if it offends you that I was shaped by this, and that I shouldn't have written about it. I know some of you want to believe or downplay the experiences of others as cashing in on "trauma," but you are so far off the mark.
Yup. As always, the people who claim not to want to talk or think about race and gender can’t help but show that they are actually obsessed with it.
white/hetero/athletic/intelligent male:
People look at me and before they know anything about me or my background they think: 'toxic masculinity', 'privilege', 'racist', 'misogynist', 'homophobic', etc. They see the root cause of all that is wrong with society these days apparently. I am a walking billboard for them to direct their hate.
Give us some specific examples of how it's impacted your life.
All PP could say is it has made me an amorphous pile of grievances against things I've imagined.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The people opposed to this only do so because they think race or gender are the only way people identify and they are afraid that being white and cis may hamper their kid's college app.
But it is BS because there are so many ways your identity is defined. Physically, racially, culturally.
My husband wrote his essay on being an only child.
When I read the question from the article, “Tell us about an aspect of your identity or a life experience that has shaped you," I immediately thought of how much of my life has been shaped by my physical disability (missing a limb). In fact, I wrote about this in my college app essay in 1994.
Sorry if it offends you that I was shaped by this, and that I shouldn't have written about it. I know some of you want to believe or downplay the experiences of others as cashing in on "trauma," but you are so far off the mark.
Yup. As always, the people who claim not to want to talk or think about race and gender can’t help but show that they are actually obsessed with it.
white/hetero/athletic/intelligent male:
People look at me and before they know anything about me or my background they think: 'toxic masculinity', 'privilege', 'racist', 'misogynist', 'homophobic', etc. They see the root cause of all that is wrong with society these days apparently. I am a walking billboard for them to direct their hate.
Give us some specific examples of how it's impacted your life.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The people opposed to this only do so because they think race or gender are the only way people identify and they are afraid that being white and cis may hamper their kid's college app.
But it is BS because there are so many ways your identity is defined. Physically, racially, culturally.
My husband wrote his essay on being an only child.
When I read the question from the article, “Tell us about an aspect of your identity or a life experience that has shaped you," I immediately thought of how much of my life has been shaped by my physical disability (missing a limb). In fact, I wrote about this in my college app essay in 1994.
Sorry if it offends you that I was shaped by this, and that I shouldn't have written about it. I know some of you want to believe or downplay the experiences of others as cashing in on "trauma," but you are so far off the mark.
Yup. As always, the people who claim not to want to talk or think about race and gender can’t help but show that they are actually obsessed with it.
white/hetero/athletic/intelligent male:
People look at me and before they know anything about me or my background they think: 'toxic masculinity', 'privilege', 'racist', 'misogynist', 'homophobic', etc. They see the root cause of all that is wrong with society these days apparently. I am a walking billboard for them to direct their hate.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what it means not to partake in "identification". Are you saying that your kid refuses to answer questions about their gender, or religion, or nationality, or family status or hobbies?
Everyone I know identifies as something.
If you're a white male, cis/het, not religious, UMC, family been here a long time and intermixed (generic European), truly what is there to say?
I'm not in this category but I feel like these Qs should be optional. Otherwise it is very cringe and fake.
You could write about your identity as teacher, scientist, artist, craftsman, writer, big brother, etc. What led you to define yourself as you do today.
College AO: "Oh, not a minority, then, or you would have mentioned it? On the reject pile you go."
And yet except for HBCU's, most colleges are overwhelmingly white. How does that work?
1. why do colleges need to reflect society?
2. most higher achieving kids are white or Asian
3. most students who are apply are white or Asian, so colleges are a representation of the applicant pool, not the general public, but even so, the majority of people in this country are white.
Anonymous wrote:I don't know when victimhood and trauma became such a hot commodity to AOs. It's really sick.