The Prompt is: Please provide an answer below if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application.
I've decided to write about my dysfunctional family because It is a significant part of my life.
Family life has been an issue for me throughout high school. My parents provide for me, and would do whatever they can to do something for me, but it is still tough for many reasons. My parents are separated and my mother has had prescription drug problems for most of her life. She went to rehab but still struggles. She is currently unemployed and homeless living with her sister while trying to provide for my younger half-brother and sister who both have different fathers that aren't in their life very much, one of which is now a registered sex-offender. I've always lived with my father and, for the most part, he has always been able to provide for me and keep a roof over my head. Although he does have anger problems which have caused me to have to live in fear of explosive outbursts for the latter part of my life.
Because of these circumstances, life has thrown me curveballs in every which way. Many times I've been thrown to the ground, but I always manage to get up again. For example, this summer my father lost our house and his job due to his substance abuse problems. It left us homeless for the whole summer, but we were able to stay with friends and family a majority of the time. Things could have been worse, but being sixteen and not knowing if you'll have a place to sleep that night can be stressful. Although it was an extremely tough time, having both parents homeless and jobless, it has taught me that even though the going gets tough, things will get better if you get back up and persevere through tough times. I've learned to cope by doing things that take my mind off it, such as exercising and learning about technology when I have the chance, even though a great deal of my time is taken up by helping take care of my siblings and dealing with family issues.
Times like these have also taught me many other life lessons such as the importance of family and being there for others in times of need. Also the power of positivity. Experiences like this have also made me appreciative for what I have. Other people may have it a lot worse than I do, so it has made me empathetic towards others because you don't know what they are dealing with behind closed doors. It has even taught me independence; how to encounter a problem, analyze it, compartmentalize it, deal with it, and continue to live my life. Above all, it has motivated me to do well in life, because I've personally experienced what can happen when you don't.
Here are my suggestions:
1. Please rewrite some sentences to make sure your essay flows fluently.
2. Do not use YOU in your essay because you are illustrating a point, not conversing with someone. You should use I, we, us and etc.
3. Other than that, I think you have a good story, but please elaborate more on how it affect you and make you become a better person.
Good luck!
It's hard to really explain everything because I only have a 500 word limit and this is 450. I'm going to have to shorten this even more down to around 380 words for a different supplement. So, Do you think i did as best as I could considering word count?
I don't think the word limit is the problem because I don't think the common app supplement is meant for a full blown essay; it's meant for more concise and brief information. You don't have to mention every bad situation in your life, maybe the one that has affected you significantly; a topic like this could have made a great common app essay. And I might be wrong about this, but it's often recommended that the common app supplement is used to explain stuff such as bad grades etc.
