I have also been fascinated with death as a theme in many of my Sample Essays - from capturing a road trip of a family in Stanford MBA What Matters Essay – Savor Every Moment to facing death in the Family in Harvard MBA Sample Essay – War and Starting Over Again to writing about my own near-death experience in one of the samples for Darden’s About Yourself Question
With the pandemic, the subtle and poetic narrative of losing a loved one became a tool to gain sympathy. I can’t blame the applicant for trying. But all those who are again taking the risk of capturing this complex theme, should write the experience with sincerity and care.
In capturing this complex theme, write about 3 sub-themes:
1) Unusual Memories
I have the strangest memories of my grandparents.
My grandmother gave a running commentary on the pedestrians walking through the roads, often egging them to speed up to catch a bus, or my grandfather’s adult jokes that made me wonder what the old man might have been as a young fellow – are two fond ones.
It was not just their words or actions but the shock I experienced that made me smile.
Despite hours with them, many times marveling at my grandfather’s interpreting skills of the bible or wondering at the stamina of my grandmother to talk without any break, the two memories stand out for the quirkiness of the respectable old people.
It is always flaws about people that we remember the most.
Cute flaws that evoke a chuckle are rare in MBA essays. But I have seen a few. That disarms the reviewer from interpreting the serious Investment Banker or Management Consultant into human beings with families and loved ones.
Disconnecting your senses from the awareness that you are reading an MBA essay, even if it is for a paragraph, can happen when you find an unusual memory to share with the admissions team.
When the person you are judging for their quirkiness is now revealed to be dead, there is a certain longing to learn more about you that will emerge.
2) Shared Truth
There is no truth that once known can be reversed than the awareness that all of us will die.
This truth is the reason for the lost look on our faces when we are alone, contemplating what lies ahead, wondering about the people we met, interacted and lived with. They are all but a temporary memory, racing towards a permanent memory.
This shared truth motivates us to do more for our community, our country, our neighborhood, and our world.
Most community engagement narratives are driven by a deep desire to be known.
Being Famous or Chasing fame is discredited as a post-social media phenomenon.
The tools democratized access to fame, but the deep desire to be appreciated before we are long forgotten is fundamental to our human condition.
We sneer at the fame-seeking teenager, but deep down, we know that the person needs attention, attention to be loved, to be appreciated, and to be known to offer ‘something’ of value to the world.
3) Unpredictability
Once you live through your 20s and reach closer to your 30s, the strict orientation to a career, the heartbreaks, the setbacks, and the point of no return often feel disorienting.
An applicant who experiences such unpredictability at an accelerated pace as a combat veteran, victim of war, corruption, or poverty will have developed a strange sense of optimism, an optimism from surviving the mess of the world.
Every MBA applicant throws around ‘resilience’ even to the slightest discomfort. But there are MBA applicants who truly suffered horrible traumas. But they survived. And now, they look at the world with a new perspective.
Often, the perspective is after a terrible loss at an unexpected turn in life.
We empathize with the unpredictability of life.
Death is the best expression to unite us in this truth.
When you choose an event from your life to expand, choose events that made you aware of your role in this world, motivated you to do more and face setbacks in a stoic manner.
Next Steps
- The ‘resilience’ or ‘persistence’ narrative should be added with care only with a Show Don’t tell Approach
- For step-by-step strategies, shortcuts, and ideas to create heartfelt narratives, Download F1GMAT’s Winning MBA Essay Guide (245+ Sample Essays)
- If you need my guidance in shortlisting experiences, drafting, and editing your MBA essays, Subscribe to F1GMAT’s Essay Editing Service
