1. Describe an experience that has shaped your life and how it has impacted your values, goals, and aspirations.
2. Discuss a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale.
4. Describe an experience where you were unsuccessful in achieving your goal. What lessons did you learn from this experience?
5. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you?
7. What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? Whats the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
8. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
9. What motivates you?
10. What is the most significant challenge you have faced and how did you overcome it?