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05 Nov 2019, 13:54
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Hey guys, I've been doing some deep soul-searching to write my Stanford essay and zeroed in on "what" matters most to me. I have rich life experiences that backup my claim that what I say matters to me really does genuinely matter to me. However, I just can't figure out "why" it matters most to me in life.
The problem is this: the whole "why" question sounds a little ridiculous to me. If, say, what matters most to Jack is honesty. How exactly is he supposed to explain "why" honesty matters most to him? It may be genes, upbringing etc. How exactly is that good enough stuff build an essay on? Sounds a little like asking why I like bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. All I can think of "why" I like bagel and cream cheese is that it tastes good. It's hard for me to write an essay on that!!
Is my concern genuine, or am I very badly misinterpreting the question? Please help me understand what the adcoms want
The problem is this: the whole "why" question sounds a little ridiculous to me. If, say, what matters most to Jack is honesty. How exactly is he supposed to explain "why" honesty matters most to him? It may be genes, upbringing etc. How exactly is that good enough stuff build an essay on? Sounds a little like asking why I like bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. All I can think of "why" I like bagel and cream cheese is that it tastes good. It's hard for me to write an essay on that!!
Is my concern genuine, or am I very badly misinterpreting the question? Please help me understand what the adcoms want
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strawberryjelly
05 Nov 2019, 13:58
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So from my perspective, I wrote the why as what experiences I had that backed up the what, for example, if honesty matters most to you, what life events led you to prioritise that
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blahblahgirl
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05 Nov 2019, 16:58
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pj2294
One great way to understand the 'why' is to make a list of all the decisions that you've made related to the 'what' in the past 5 years. And then ask yourself why you made those decisions. Be honest to yourself. From my experience, at first, the reasons you'd think of would be trivial (did it just to learn something new) but then, as you get closer to the present, you'd start forming a clearer idea of a much deeper 'why'. Good luck!
