An Essay about Someone Who Has Made an Impact on Your Life

Who has made a significant impact in your life and why? Essay on the topic might be challenging to write. One is usually asked to write such a text as a college admission essay.

A topic for this paper can be of your choice or pre-established by the institution. Either way, you may have to describe a person who influenced your life.

Here, we’ll tell you how to write about someone who had a huge impact on your life:

• Learn story-telling techniques.
• Choose the right person that affected you significantly.
• Describe the representative situation in an engaging way.
• Focus on yourself and the meaning of your journey.

However, it may not be enough to write about someone who had a great impact on your life. You should know some other peculiarities which we are going to discuss right now. Don’t forget that you can always find help here with any academic task.

📃 Writing about a Person Who Influenced You

Writing your essay about someone who has made an impact on your life starts with learning a few techniques. One of the main things you should know is that you will have to create a captivating story. Thus, you should know how to write personal narrative essays, some basic rules of story-telling.

Here is what you should keep in mind:

1. Tell a story. A great way to engage your audience is to say something in the form of a story. Human brain processes information better that way. With words and sensory details, you can create a mental image of the person you are describing.
2. Be personal. It can resemble composing an autobiography or memoir as you have to talk about your actual experience. There is nothing more moving than an individual story, so do not be afraid to open up in the reflective essay. Talk about the change you’ve experienced after meeting the person that influenced you.
3. Don’t be predictable. A good story needs some level of suspense. There are many ways in which it can be done. You can try to tell the story chronologically or go back in time and include flashbacks. Try to surprise your readers with an intriguing essay title.
4. Create a three-dimensional character. The focus of the story is not the sequence of events. It’s the character. Provide enough details and explain to the reader what makes that unusual.
5. Show instead of telling. It’s a core idea of good story-telling. By doing that, you invite the readers to the scene. For starters, try using dialogue instead of narration.
6. End on a positive note. Even if you had to face challenges, tell about a positive influence in your life. The biggest impact might be harmful, but it helped you grow nonetheless. Help the readers to see a piece of wisdom or a lesson you have learned.

Besides, we have listed some quick hints. With them, you’ll complete your essay on someone who has made a significant impact on your life and why successfully:

• Someone’s impact that you can describe may be either positive or negative.
  A vast majority of essays written about influential persons speak positively about them. However, do not try to overidealize. It’s fair to talk about negative as much as about positive. A person that influenced you does not have to be likable or perfect. It is enough to recognize the positive qualities that made an impact on you. It will help the commission to see you as a thinking and just person.
• Be as specific as possible. Describe a particular incident that explains this person’s impact on you.
  You have to describe the qualities of the person through the actual events that took place and the overall environment. However, remember that the story is also about you and how the person influenced you. Be specific about your growth and journey. The essay is the best way to demonstrate your thoughts and personality.
• The main character of your essay might be someone you do not know personally.
  Stay truthful and honest to yourself. If someone who has made an impact on your life is a person you have never met, write about it. You could talk about your grandparent whose story you’ve heard or an author of your favorite book. Describe how a person that you’ve met on social media and the friendship with them changed you.

Whoever it is that inspired you, remember that the essay is also about you. It is not the best practice to talk about celebrities, though. You might appear as a fan and not as a thinker.

🎯 College Application Essay

Why are you writing paragraph after paragraph about the person who has made an impact on your life? If this essay is for some contest or is a part of the college application package, be careful.

We’ve gathered some tips on writing an application essay:

1. Construct a story. Every story should have a good beginning, a middle, and an end. The first paragraph should serve as an introduction to your information. At the same time, leave the last section for the conclusion. The middle part is where you describe the events in your account.
2. Outline it. To make every paragraph count, you should create an outline. It will help you to understand what you want to say in each particular moment in your story. As well as stay on track and coherently describe the incident in your essay.
3. Provide examples. They can help you prove your point and demonstrate your role model’s qualities. Instead of saying my father is a generous person, you can find an example in which he showed generosity. These parts should always lead back to you. The goal here is to show how their good conduct influenced your life decisions.
4. Be honest. Staying true to who you are is essential. Read successful college essay examples if you’re not sure about it. After all, the paper is not about the role model, but it is about the influence. Try to write something that will be creative and unique. Honesty is the key to reach your reader’s heart.
5. Ask someone to read it. Once you finish, ask a friend or a relative for their honest feedback. They can evaluate the content, the grammar, the readability, and the style. An independent reader can help you to improve all of these points.
6. Don’t include the prompt. Remember that the admissions committee will receive hundreds of essays on this subject. Do not repeat standard templates and writing prompts. Your goal is to stand out from the crowd, and the only way to do it is by writing something meaningful and personal.

Most importantly:

You will have a particular word limit. It means you need to be very precise and clear when writing your essay on the person who has had the greatest impact on your life. You should be able to express the main idea and explain the effects in 200 or even fewer words.

Tips on how to prepare “remembering a person” essays can also be useful for your task. Look up successful someone who has impacted your life essay examples as well.

Who Has Made a Significant Impact in Your Life & Why: Essay Example

People Who Influenced You: Essay Topics

1. Teacher’s influence on my personality.
2. Discuss how your teacher’s attitude influenced your desire to study.
3. Describe a teacher who had a negative impact on your zeal to learn the subject.
4. How the example of Henri Cartier-Bresson influenced my desire to become a photographer.
5. Parental influence on my life outcomes.
6. Explain how a conversation with happy spouses changed your views on marriage.
7. How James Brown influenced my dancing style.
8. Effect of an online friend on my life.
9. Analyze how the example and behavior of your parents influenced your character.
10. School bullies and their impact on my life.
11. Discuss the impact Disney cartoon characters had on your perception of gender roles.
12. Narrate how Maria Montessori work impacted your desire to become a teacher.
13. Describe how your vegetarian friend influenced you to change your eating habits.
14. Examine the role of your coach in your decision to take up football.
15. Role of influencers in American society.
16. How your Italian relatives impacted your view on family and your cultural values.
17. Discuss the way Aristotle’s understanding of ethics influences your ethical values.
18. Analyze the impact if your father’s beliefs on your career choice.
19. How meeting my best friend affected my life.
20. Teacher’s impact on my choice of career.
21. Why I think George Washington is a true hero: the impact of his personality on my life.
22. Describe how life and example of Florence Nightingale inspired you to become a nurse.
23. A fictional character that influenced my worldview.
24. My mother’s influence on my ideals of beauty.
25. Hayao Miyazaki and his influence on me.
26. How my uncle helped me to overcome my fear of riding a bicycle.
27. Write about a celebrity you consider a role model.
28. Why Steve Jobs’ story inspires me.
29. Discuss how your physical education teacher motivated you to take up a healthy lifestyle.
30. Describe the way Jane Austen influenced your love for reading.
31. Teacher’s impact on my personal life.
32. Analyze how the example of Greta Tunberg inspired you to become an environmental activist.
33. My friend helped me to overcome my fear and it changed my life.
34. Influence of Martin Luther King on my beliefs.
35. Why Roberto Clemente is my hero.
36. How superheroes affect modern society.
37. Examine how your favorite K-pop group influenced your personal style.
38. The role of my grandparents in building up my identity.
39. Impact of my parents on my self-confidence.
40. Explain how your mother’s example influenced your desire to enter a college.
41. The way Mother Theresa’s life and example changed my worldview.
42. A person who inspired my interest in Indian art.
43. Jay-Z’s biography and influence on me.
44. The role of my family in my decision to lead a healthy lifestyle.
45. Discuss how Jane Addams legacy influenced your resolution to become a social worker.
46. Why Helen Keller is a person I would like to resemble.
47. Analyze the role of Edgar Allan Poe in shaping your literature taste.
48. How the activities of Eleanor Roosevelt motivate me and a lot of other Americans.
49. Abraham Lincoln and his impact on my life. 
50. Impact of my coach on my professional development and success.

Thank you for reading the article. We hope you found it helpful. Don’t hesitate to share it with your friends and peers. Leave your comments below, and good luck with your college admission essay!

You might also be interested in:

• School Days Essay: How to Describe a Memorable Event
• Growing Up Essay: Great Ideas for Your College Assignment
• Childhood Memories Essay: Brilliant Writing Ideas
• Excellent Remembering a Person Essay: Free Writing Guidelines
• Life Experience Essay: How to Write a Brilliant Paper

References

1. Tips for an Admissions Essay on an Influential Person: Allen Grove, ThoughtCo
2. 7 Storytelling Techniques Used by the Most Inspiring TED Presenters: Nayomi Chibana, Visme
3. Someone Who Impacted My Life Essay: Bartleby
4. Application Essay: The Writing Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
5. Essays That Worked: Undergraduate Admissions, Johns Hopkins University
6. The Only Four College Essay Writing Tips You’ll Ever Need: Inside Admissions, Tufts Admissions