Personal Essay Writing Prompt:

By choice and by chance, we all belong to many groups. These groups include not only those into which we’re born or which we build over time (such as family and friends) but also other groups that form more fleetingly out of circumstance (such as “the students who take the 7:30 bus” or “the ones who sit out during gym” or the readers of a certain blog). 
  

In a personal essay, tell your readers about one of the groups to which you belong, or to which you once belonged. Use imagery, details, and other narrative techniques to bring to life your group.  Encourage your readers to consider meanings through your portrait of, and reflections on, your group.   

You might use the following questions to prompt and/or to guide your writing about your group:  Who are you? Where do you "live together"?  By what rules or understandings do you live?  How do you impact one another and/or how do you impact others and the world?  What do you learn together?  What do you share together?  Why is this group important? 

Aim to educate your readers about segments of life and views on life that they might not already know.  You might find it useful to imagine that you are describing your group to a visitor from another country (a distant relative or an exchange student visiting your school) and that you are acting as the spokesperson for your group.  Surprise your readers as you allow them to see through the eyes of the group.  We encourage you to express your answer in the first person plural (“we”) voice.