Personal Statement Struggle Rant!

[shadowcreeper]

Thank you all for the suggestions and opinions. The PS is starting to make a little more sense to me…and I feel a little more confident with what I have to bring to the table. I do not feel like I am on the wrong path any longer.

I do have another question though. If I do talk about my guidance counselor in my senior year of HS telling me that I should not go to college because I would never amount to anything, should I stay away from the drug addiction part all together… I could probably get away with just talk about being rebellious and having a problem with authority and what not instead of drugs. It was that point that was the wake up call that caused me to reassess and drop the bad habits, I am just not sure that I should go with drugs… I do not want to turn off ad coms or make them think I was a drug addict.

I know I have to be careful with this topic if I go with it for the entire statement and use it as a theme because as Jacy and KG said, I do not want to come off like I did all this to prove a few people wrong, however, it felt really nice to be able to do that.

KG, I agree with you, I would never write a PS about how not enjoying my jobs in the past makes me want to go to law school. I thank you for helping me dig through some of what I have on my plate. I never thought about adding in my studies now and my thesis, but I think it would be nice to integrate into the PS because it would show why I want to pursue law, and the steps that I took to get there.

I think I am going to try to talk about the naysayers and relate it to my current studies and how those studies led me to my interest in law. I am not sure what area of law my online gaming and privacy thesis touch on, I will have to look into it more deeply since it can touch on a few areas.

Thanks again for all the great advice! I do not know what I would do without this board…well I know I would still be staring blankly at a word document wonder where to go next.

~K

[!@#$%]

Next steps: 
1) Take any of the information you found useful (your thoughts included) and make a list. 
2) Arrange your list in some sort of logical order.  There's your very rough outline.
3) Add relevant details/other thoughts/ideas to the outline.
4) Narrate around the outline.  There's your first draft.

[elisel]

I think you'd be wise to steer clear of mentioning drugs, unless you have an actual conviction or something that would make it obvious to the adcoms anyway.

[swifty]

feminist by any means, but I never let anyone put me down for being a woman or tell me that I could not do something because of my gender.

Gawd.  Don't mention that.  What if a dude reads it.  He will say she can't piss her name in snow like I can.  I bet I could run faster than her.  Don't bring that issue to the table. 

[shadowcreeper]

Everyone thanks much for your help! It is much appreciated.

Swifty... you pulled half a quote... I said "I AM NOT afeminist by any means, but I never let anyone put me down for being a woman or tell me that I could not do something because of my gender."

If some ad com read something like that and started to think...wow she cant write her name in the snow like i can, I would think he was a total cock and be extremely happy with my rejection letter from that school.

[Miltra]

Everyone thanks much for your help! It is much appreciated.

Swifty... you pulled half a quote... I said "I AM NOT afeminist by any means, but I never let anyone put me down for being a woman or tell me that I could not do something because of my gender."

If some ad com read something like that and started to think...wow she cant write her name in the snow like i can, I would think he was a total cock and be extremely happy with my rejection letter from that school.

Why the reluctance to call yourself a feminist?  It's not a dirty word.  You are a strong, take no *&^% kind of woman who fights for what she wants.  If that isn't a feminist, I don't know what is. 

Not that you want to send the ashes of the bra you burned with your application... 

[shadowcreeper]

Why the reluctance to call yourself a feminist? It's not a dirty word. You are a strong, take no *&^% kind of woman who fights for what she wants. If that isn't a feminist, I don't know what is.

Not that you want to send the ashes of the bra you burned with your application...

Based on your definition, I would be a feminist, hands down, but I think of a feminist more as a person who takes action on a more public level for what she believes in (in respect to womans rights). Although I support and respect women who become what others told them they could never be, I never went so far as to protest for womens rights or anything of that nature.

So, no I do not think feminist is a dirty word, I just dont think I take enough action to embody the word feminist.

[SNUGGLE]

Pick your top five binges during your young and irresponsible days and then relate lessons you learned from each to your decision to go to law school.

[nonobvious]

SNUGGLE you're so insensitive! I mean that's just ridiculous, how can anyone choose their "top five binges" -- it's like asking a parent to choose their favorite child... 

[Ninja]

I'd suggest staying far away from the drug topic.  While it does show that you overcame adversity, it may cause more harm than good.  It sounds like you've lived life at a feverish pace, and some adcoms may see a turn to drugs as cracking under the pressure.  Also, I'm still undecided about the quantity vs. quality dilemma.  I don't know if you should interweave all the stuff you've done or just focus on one thing in particular.  It's up to you.  Good luck.