"Don't Write About Death"
This August, a Class of 2024 client, Sally (not her real name) told me that she had just met with her guidance counselor. They chatted about her essay topic. The counselor was alarmed.
“Don’t write about death, you’ll depress your admissions officer!”
Sally (still not her real name) and her mom asked me what I thought.
“STUPID!” I offered, tactfully.
"Oh this is fun," Sally's mom said. "I have to come to these meeting more often!"
The back story is that Sally had attended five funerals in a span of four months. Not only is that unusual for a high school senior, it seems like it might be kind of important in her young life, don't you think?
“If this was a big deal, it’s something to consider writing about. Actually, it might be weird to NOT write about it”, quoth the college advisor.
The essay doesn’t have to be about “death,” I said.
I continued, "What if you used the services and eulogies as a lens to look through and examine what YOU would want people to say at your funeral?
"What if the essay was about a life well lived?"
Not how you miss Grandpa and his folksy sayings and lessons you learned from him. Or how sad you are.
Personally, I don't see how that's even a subtle distinction. The two approaches are as different as chalk from cheese.
In my (unsolicited opinion), there are very few “bad” or “depressing” topics. If your guidance counselor or English teacher tries to steer you away from one that you’re really interested in exploring, don’t abandon your idea so quickly.
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