Topic for my personal statement (characteristics, family history, culture)

Hello I need help with the topic of my personal statement.

Prompt1: What qualities or unique characteristics do you posses that would allow you to contribute to the university community?

Prompt 2: How has your family history, culture of environment influence who you are.

Ok I need to write about both of these topics but I have problems with talking about myself. can someone list some characteristics that are good to write about that I can choose from? I just need some ideas to get me started.

As far as prompt 2 goes I just want to know what they mean by environment.can I get an example?

By environment, I suspect they mean things like whether you grew up in a big city, small town, or rural farming community; what region of your country you grew up in; whether your neighborhood was affluent or rat-infested; whether you walked to school without fear or had to duck drug dealers or warlords along the way; whether your school had top of the line computers for every student or not enough decades-old textbooks to go around, etc., etc.

As for characteristics, universities what to know what you will bring to the "mix" of students. Since they are usually choosing among more than enough qualified applicants, universities look for a blend of students that will include students with interests in the arts, sciences, and athletics; students from different regions of the country and different parts of the world; students from a variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds; etc., etc.

What will you bring to the mix? If you play the tuba, say so, because the marching band might just be looking for a second string player. Are you likely to join the physics club? Paint stage sets for the drama club? Join the dance team? If you've had unique experiences or have unique talents, list them.

A lot of people have this problem, but really, there is no need to worry. No one in the whole world knows more about who you are than you do, so you are being asked to write on a topic about which you are an expert, the foremost in existence.

As for the first prompt, remember that it specifically asks about qualities and characteristics you have, and then asks you to connect them to how you could contribute to the university. So, to build on Simone's excellent example, if you play the tuba, start by talking about your passion for music, how you have developed it, and how you would like to continue developing it at university, possibly by, say, applying to the marching band, whether they happen to be looking for second string player or not.

The second prompt may be a bit more difficult, as you have to talk about how your family history has influenced you, which may be hard for you to see, especially if you are applying at an age where you are still firmly embedded in that history. Worse, you have to manage to hit all the right notes without using trite phrasing that will be repeated by every other applicant. Your best bet is to just type up the best draft you can and post it here -- specific feedback will be much easier once we have some idea of what your family history and cultural background actually are.