Common application - Question regarding essay content

I'm currently in the late stages of brainstorming for my Common application essay. I have a really good feeling about my topic, but I'm hearing claims on this board that students should not write essays on "how my dad/mom has really impacted on my life". So I'm thinking, why not?

If it is really special, I think you can write something about it in your essay. But too much emphasis is not good.

Ha! What do you mean "if it is really special"? Of course anything I write about will be "really special", or else I wouldn't write about it.

Why not? Because so many students do and because, no matter how special your parents are to you, they're probably not so distinctive that their characteristics will make your essay stand out from crowd. What's your purpose in writing the essay? To express gratitude to your parents or to get into college? If you want to get into college, send your parents a Hallmark card and choose a different focus for your essay. Unless, of course, your parents are trapeze artists from Albania who swam the English channel to give you a chance for an education.

Ok this is going to be awkward if I try to describe it. So maybe I should finish something first, post it, then have you guys evaluate it.

OK but, if you're intent on writing about your parents, do yourself a favor and read all of the my father/mother essays here and ask yourself, "is my story really so special"? Because, seriously, if your father taught you to work hard or your mother taught you to believe in yourself then, again, that's obviously very significant to you but not at all remarkable because that is what all even halfway decent parents teach their children.

I know I'm good and sick of reading the "my mommy/daddy is the specialest person in the whole world" essays, and there haven't been that many on here, far fewer I would imagine than your average admissions officer has to read, every year, year after year. In part, its a matter of originality. Everyone is heavily influenced by their caregivers, for good or for ill. For most of the people who do well enough in school to have a chance to get into university, the influence has generally been good. Worse, those who choose to write about them almost certain do so because the influence has been good. So, the essays are all going to come out about the same, only a bit better or worse depending on the writer's skill. However, you want to write an essay that stands out from the crowd. This makes writing about your parents a bad idea.

Agreed.

But it's really difficult for me to express how I really feel about this without having you guys read the actual essay.

But then again, I still think you're right, writing something like that is just too big of a risk to take, even if it's remarkable. Thanks for feedback, I'm pretty sure if I re-assess my other experiences I can come up with something just as good. Thanks again!

PS - I'm really amazed at the dispatch of the responses on this board. Wow!