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Hi all, my parents recently got divorced and it's had a big impact on my life. I want to write about it in my college essay, but I don't want it to sound too negative. Any advice on how to approach this topic and share my story in a meaningful way?

When writing a college essay about your parents' divorce, it's important to focus on personal growth and development rather than the negativity of the situation. Here are some tips to help you approach this topic in a meaningful way:

1. Focus on your growth: Highlight how the experience of your parents getting divorced has led to personal growth or development. Perhaps you learned valuable lessons about resilience, independence, or empathy from the situation. Show how these qualities have made you a stronger person and will benefit you in your future academic and personal pursuits.

2. Share a specific personal anecdote: Avoid talking about your parents' divorce in general terms. Instead, focus on a specific event or moment from your life that illustrates the impact of the divorce on you. This will make your essay more engaging and relatable to the reader.

3. Balance positivity and realism: While it's important not to dwell on the negative aspects of your parents' divorce, you also want to be honest about the challenges you faced. Try to strike a balance between acknowledging the adversity you've been through and emphasizing the positive growth or realizations that emerged from the situation.

4. Demonstrate self-awareness: Being introspective about how the experience has shaped you is crucial. Show that you have a deep understanding of your emotions, thoughts, and reactions throughout the process. This shows maturity and self-awareness, which are qualities that colleges value in their applicants.

5. Relate the experience to your goals: Explain how your parents' divorce and the lessons you learned from it have influenced your academic, career, or life goals. This will help the reader understand the significance of your story and see how it's relevant to your aspirations.

6. Proofread and revise: Finally, make sure to revise, proofread, and seek feedback from a trusted teacher, counselor, or mentor to ensure your essay is well-written and effectively conveys your message.

By focusing on your personal growth, sharing a specific anecdote, balancing positivity with realism, demonstrating self-awareness, and relating your experience to your goals, you can write a meaningful college essay about your parents' divorce that will resonate with admissions officers.

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Should You Talk about Divorce in Your College Admissions Essay

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• Last Updated on August 29, 2024

Table of Contents

As a high school student, you should plan out your college application essay s carefully. You want to write a strong piece centered around a topic that is personal, compelling, and unique. But figuring out what that personal, compelling, unique topic is can be difficult. 

Some students feel that there are so many important moments they want to write about in their essay that they can’t choose among them. Other students may have the opposite experience: feeling as if there’s nothing that makes them special and so no topic around which to build an essay.  But, because this is your only chance to personally connect with admissions officers , it’s still important to pick a topic that will provide readers a sense of your character and your story. To accomplish this, some students decide to talk about their passions or times in their lives that made them re-evaluate themselves, and some students discuss heavier topics, such as personal loss. 

In particular, many students want to write about their experience of their parents’ divorce in their college application essay . This is a tricky topic to navigate in a personal statement, but it can be done. We’ll talk below about whether you should write about divorce and, if you do decide to focus on the topic, how best to frame your essay.

Can You Write about Divorce in Your College Essay ?

Because it can be hard to properly articulate how someone’s parents’ divorce or a loved one’s death helped them grow as individuals, many college advisors try to steer students away from writing about these more serious situations. It’s very easy, if the essay isn’t well structured, for the tragedy of divorce or death to overshadow the writer’s personal qualities that they are trying to highlight for admissions officers . 

Still, this doesn’t mean that you can’t write about your parent’s divorce and how it shaped you. Depending on how you frame the divorce, you can make the topic work in your favor, but you need to make sure that you’re writing about your role in the divorce in a way that is flattering and that shows—through concrete examples—how you grew as a result of your experiences. 

When Should You Write about Divorce in Your College Application Essay ?

Students can write about almost any topic, as long as they answer the essay prompt and show colleges that they have the right qualities to attend their school. However, if you plan on writing about divorce in your essay, we recommend thinking about a few key factors. 

First, consider how much time has passed since the divorce. If your parents have just divorced this year, it might not be appropriate to write about this as your essay topic. A divorce is a traumatic event for students of any age, so you want some distance between yourself and the divorce, enough that you can properly process its effects on your life. If your parents are recently divorced, it may be harder to gain the necessary perspective and clarity to write a strong essay. 

Next, ask yourself if you have a good reason for writing about your parent’s divorce. Some students simply pick this topic because they feel like they need to write about a challenging time in their life. However, it’s best if you have other strong reasons for writing about your parent’s divorce—generally some personal growth or resilience that the divorce highlights. If you can’t show clearly how the trauma of divorce led you to grow or develop, it may be best to seek a different topic. 

Any essay about divorce is bound to highlight emotional hardships, but you want to be careful that those challenges don’t become the central focus of the essay. It’s okay to show vulnerability in your application, and opening up about challenging experiences can help your essay stand out and seem more unique. But you’re having suffered doesn’t inherently make you a more attractive candidate to colleges. Rather, you want to be able to show how that suffering it connects to your college ambitions, how it led you to become more resilient or more focused or how it directed you toward a career assisting people who have similar traumatic experiences. 

Really, anyone writing about this topic needs to show admissions officers that they’ve emerged from this experience stronger, a better potential asset to colleges they’re applying to.   

How to Write a Strong College Application Essay about Divorce

If you’ve considered your options and writing about your parents’ divorce still seems like your best option, there are many ways to approach the topic. We have a few pointers to help you set up your essay and grab admissions readers’ attentions below:

Create a Solid Outline

As with any essay, planning is everything. You want to create a solid outline that will really help admissions officers understand you and your experience of your parents’ divorce. Start by writing a strong hook that isn’t overly cliché. You might begin by describing a particularly difficult moment in the divorce, though this runs the risk of highlighting too strongly the negative aspects of your experience. To overcome that problem, you might instead paint a picture of your current life, of the ways in which you’ve improved following the divorce . 

You can analyze the situation a little, but make sure that, throughout the middle part of your essay, you talk about how the divorce positively shaped your outlook on life. What lessons did you learn? How did you grow? How are you stronger for having undergone these difficult experiences? Answer these questions well, then talk about how these life lessons prepared you for your chosen college. 

Try Not to be a Cliche

While divorce is difficult for everyone involved, especially children, you need to remember that a lot of people go through a divorce. That means that plenty of students have written on this topic—and your reader will likely be familiar with common tropes of the genre: slammed doors and angry voices, financial challenges and difficult relocations. So, you need to help yourself stand out by making your writing more unique.

  The best way to do this is by presenting your experiences with enough specificity that the experience you’re describing is yours and no one else’s. Slammed doors may be a cliché of arguments, but if you describe the how, after they slammed the door, you watched your parent walk away through the door’s cut glass window, their image fractured into a thousand fragments by the prismed glass, no one will mistake your story for that of another student. Through specificity and concrete imagery, you can make your essay stand out.. 

It’s true that similarities will exist in anyone’s account of a divorce, but you can make your essay distinctive by adding personal details. The most important thing is to tell admissions how you specifically overcame the divorce and learned from this experience. 

Have Other People Read Your Essay

Finally, have people you trust look over your essay. It might be uncomfortable letting other people read such a personal essay, but you want to make sure that you’re submitting the best possible writing for your college application. Friends and family members can give you constructive feedback and even tell you how to improve your writing. They can also check for grammar and other spelling mistakes so your essay is fully polished and ready for submission!

At  HelloCollege , we know how difficult it can be to prepare for college and aim to make the process as simple and easy as possible. We want to help you get accepted into the university of your dreams! Schedule a free consultation today. 

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How to Write Your College Essay About Divorced Parents

When you plan to write your college essay about divorced parents, you may be concerned about the practicality and appropriateness of the topic. This essay topic seems to be something that a lot of people ask about. Usually, they ask this:

“Is it okay to write my college essay about divorced parents?”

Here’s our honest opinion: writing your college essay about divorced parents is okay if –and only if– it demonstrates that you are a wise investment to the university ROI-wise.

Okay, so that sounds sort of weird, right? Why not give a straightforward “yes” or “no” answer? What the heck is an “ROI”? What does any of this even mean?

Well, as admissions experts, we’ve seen how the college admissions process can be much more complicated than that. The line between a good essay topic that can sway the admissions decision from rejected to accepted –or accepted to rejected– is very thin. There are no cut-and-dry formulas that can guarantee acceptance or rejection. However, there is a fundamental mindset you should adopt when writing your college essay about divorced parents.

Think of the admissions process from a utilitarian perspective. Remember: at the end of the day, you are sending your applications and transcripts because they are tools to help the university screen you. The admissions office has a duty of screening your value as a candidate to their university. You can choose to write your college essay about divorced parents as long as you show that you are a good return of investment (ROI) to the school. That means the school should have a good reason for reserving a spot for you in their institution, investing money on you, spending professor time on you, and accommodating you.

You need to show that your college essay about divorced parents makes you a great candidate for that.

Therefore, the question should not be “can I write my college essay about divorced parents”. Instead, it should be, “how can I write my college essay about divorced parents in a way that makes me the best asset to the school?”

Sounds difficult, right? “What if they think I’m too whiny?” “What if it doesn’t make me seem strong?”

Trust us. There are some fantastic college essays about divorced parents that we’ve seen and edited. Some of these essays managed to help students get into fantastic schools like Berkeley and USC. We’ll show you how to do exactly that below.

Table of Contents:

The Anatomy of a Good College Essay About Divorced Parents.

How to avoid being cliché., demonstrating value as a candidate in your college essay., the danger of mental instability and unsafe family background..

There are many things that make a good college essay. All college essays must demonstrate some value to the admissions office, and show how you are someone worth investing in. However, the anatomy of a college essay about divorced parents can differ.

We’ve deconstructed the parts that make up a good essay about this topic. Here is a general outline of what you should have.

• A strong hook that stands out from the rest of the sob stories.
• An introduction that reveals some of what happened with the divorce.
• A deeper articulation and description of what exactly that felt like.
• A section covering the insinuation behind what had happened.
• Demonstrating how you have grown or surpassed the obstacles of divorce.
• How does this make you a great candidate for the school.

We understand that the college admissions essays are not always long enough to contain all six of these sections. Sometimes you’ll be limited in your word count, and have to make sacrifices along the way. Or, you’ll have to make things shorter.

One of the things you should definitely have in your college essay, no matter the topic, is at least some insinuation –whether implied or written clearly in a single paragraph– about why your experience makes you a good fit for the school (i.e. why you’re worth investing in).

One of the dangers of talking about family problems in your college essay is writing something that comes across as cliché.

With how competitive college admissions processes are in the past few years –and how they’re getting harder with every passing year– it is critical that you have a method of standing out amongst the crowd more now than ever before. Should you write an essay that sounds cliché, you won’t be able to stand out as well. The college admissions essays are an asset. They are the only section in your whole college application that gives you the chance to talk your way into college outside of measurements like GPAs and test scores. If your essay sounds too much like what others write, you won’t be able to capitalize on the essay section as much as you could have to differentiate yourself from the rest.

So, how does one avoid being cliché when writing their college essay about divorced parents?

The first order of business is to recognize that despite many applicants who also have divorced parents, your experience is different from the rest. You may have gone through a similar event in your life along with others, but your experience and manner of processing the emotions are different. Let’s look at an example.

• Dario: Mother divorced father due to the father’s hot temper. Dario’s big takeaway is his lack of a father figure, and learning to cope with that.
• Anatoly: Mother divorced father due to the father’s hot temper. Anatoly’s big takeaway is his trust issues due to feeling abandoned by both family members.

Notice how both applicants have something similar in their experience? Just because they experienced something similar does not mean they will be affected the same way. Thus, just because someone has a similar topic to your essay does not mean it will immediately be cliché. Your experiences and emotional struggles are unique. Therefore, to avoid being cliché, you need to write in detail about what your experience was like.

If your experience made you feel more lost due to lack of a parental structure, you should be specific about those feelings. Perhaps your experience was different because said feelings made focusing on school difficult for you; however, you managed to learn how to cope and succeed academically despite the familial struggles.

However it is you plan to make your college essay stand out amongst the rest of the applicants writing about family divorce, you should make sure that it is hyper specific about its details. If you do not know whether you’ve written your college essay well enough, consider scheduling a free consultation with us over the phone . We will get back to you within 24 hours.

This is going to be the most important part of writing your college essay about divorced parents.

As we said in the beginning of this article guide, the college admissions process boils down to a calculation of whether you are a good candidate ROI-wise. That means that the essays need to frame you as someone who is a wise investment. Think to yourself: why would the university you’re applying for want to bother investing their time, money, and resources giving you an education?

There are a number of ways you can answer this. I’ve listed a few below.

• Accepting you as a student would give the university good press.
• Accepting you as a student would revivify a part of the school that needs development. (not enough people of color, a stem culture that needs more business acumen, etc)
• Accepting you as a student would greatly contribute to the school’s department which you’re applying for.
• Accepting you as a student would improve the overall sociability of the school, thereby improving the experience of other students and creating a positive ripple effect.

Okay, now let’s take a look at how we’re going to write a college essay while demonstrating our value as a worthy candidate to the university. Think about the topic of being a child of divorced parents. What was your experience like? What did it do to you as a result? In what ways have you grown and developed as a person over time? Is there a way that growth experience can be translated to your future experience at university? In other words, think in this order:

That last step is the crux of your execution. You need to show that the lessons you’ve learned or the experiences you’ve developed from your parent’s divorce reveals some strength or skill applicable to the school.

So, let’s say that you want to write about your relationship with your family turning sour after a messy family divorce. You’e realized your mother had been keeping an affair with your father. This has inexorably ruined your relationship with women as a whole, and you’ve struggled to have a healthy relationship that views women in a positive light without judgment. Thus, you’ve gone on a personal journey with your father to rekindle your relationship with trusting women as a whole. Through this, you’ve discovered critical feminist theory, and had constructive discussions with people who were willing to have uncomfortable conversations with you about rekindling your trust issues with women. Today, you are someone who champions a hybrid of feminist critique as an antidote to negative toxic viewpoints of women. You also hope to use these philosophies to help other struggling men who feel that they have developed a strained relationship with the opposite sex.

This is a red flag that you should be careful about.

When writing your college essay about divorced parents, you should consider the possibility of a Sword of Damocles. Whilst writing this essay topic, the admissions officers may have the idea that a broken family due to divorced parents can lead to mental instability and unsafe conditions at the back of their mind.

With the rise of mental health issues amongst students, the admissions offices at universities must take extra consideration when tackling issues such as mental health. In particular, they have to be more careful now than ever before about letting in students who they believe may be a threat to the community due to mental instability. Therefore, it is imperative that you establish in the essay that despite having a family of divorced parents, you are in no way potentially posing an issue to the school.

That means reassuring that your academic performance is unaffected, and in the future you will be safe and secure with no extraneous issues.

If you are struggling to write a good college essay about divorced parents, you may want to consider speaking with a professional college essay editor and advisor. Contact us for a free consultation. We will get back to you within 24 hours, and can provide you with a free review + advising on your application essay.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Divorce — My Experience of Growing Up with Divorced Parents

My Experience of Growing Up with Divorced Parents

• Categories: Divorce Parents

About this sample

Words: 407 |

Updated: 8 November, 2023

Words: 407 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

• Amato, P. R., & Kane, J. B. (2011). Life-course pathways and the psychosocial adjustment of children of divorce. Journal of Family Issues, 32(2), 153-171.
• Emery, R. E. (2019). Two homes, one childhood: A parenting plan to last a lifetime. Penguin.
• Fabricius, W. V., & Luecken, L. J. (2007). Postdivorce living arrangements, parent conflict, and long-term physical health correlates for children of divorce. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(2), 195-205.
• Fine, M. A., & Fine, G. A. (2014). Handbook of divorce and relationship dissolution. Routledge.
• Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N. (1999). The seven principles for making marriage work: A practical guide from the country's foremost relationship expert. Three Rivers Press.
• Hetherington, E. M., & Kelly, J. (2002). For better or for worse: Divorce reconsidered. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Irwin, R. L., & Ryan, J. M. (2013). Counseling and divorce. Springer Science & Business Media.
• Kelly, J. B., & Emery, R. E. (2003). Children's adjustment following divorce: Risk and resilience perspectives. Family Relations, 52(4), 352-362.
• Wallerstein, J. S., Lewis, J. M., & Blakeslee, S. (2000). The unexpected legacy of divorce: The 25 year landmark study. Hachette UK.
• Walsh, F. (2016). Normal family processes: Growing diversity and complexity. Guilford Publications.

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Putting Divorce into Context in Your Applications

October 4, 2019

Applications

After years of working with students, I’ve seen that dealing with divorce as a part of the college process can be challenging for students. While many family separations are amicable or mutually chosen, many others contain feelings of loss, grief, anger and sadness . If you are a student who has faced the challenges presented by divorced parents in any way, this blog is for you!

In my last two blogs ( Part 1 / Part 2 ), I gave advice to divorced families regarding finances and the college search process . Making sure your family understands their financial plan and has a good process in place can help things go much more smoothly. However, when it comes to filling out the application, you – the student – will be faced with clearly explaining how divorce affected you.

For many students, the timing of a parents’ divorce could not be worse – when it happens during high school, it can distract you from activities, destabilize your financial support, impede on your emotional support system, and/or a hamper your studies right when grades are most important . Even if it happened several years ago, you may still be struggling with the reshuffling of your life. In these cases, it is important that you explain this to colleges. Here are three of the best ways to do that.

1) You can write about these circumstances in the additional information section of the Common Application . This section allows you to write up to 650 words “if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application.” When writing a summary of your parents’ divorce, keep it fairly factual (as opposed to highly emotional), and point clearly to how the circumstances of divorce impacted your application – primarily academic work and extracurricular activities. Typically, you would want an explanation for this section to be shorter than your main essay, so around 150-300 words, but you can use as much space as needed, and should, when appropriate. I recommend doing this when circumstances dictate, as you have little to lose and everything to gain, even if you don’t want to “whine” or “ask for pity” as many of my students say.

  2) Write your main Common Application essay about your parents’ divorce. I am very cautious to recommend this strategy, but it can be effective for some students. The primary problem with writing about a highly emotional or traumatic event in your life is that you haven’t always fully processed the event. This makes it very difficult to gain the needed perspective. Frequently, students end up writing with less skill, more difficulty, and less cohesion, because they are trying to explain an experience that taps deep emotions, particularly negative ones. So, how to decide if this is an appropriate topic for your essay? First, decide if writing about this event gives admissions readers unique insight into who you are. Second, ask yourself if this topic will provide better insights about who you are than all other possible topics. Third, make time to write in a journaling style, and then, get feedback from a trusted adult about whether the thoughts present you well and add to the strength of your application.

3) Finally, your school counselor recommendation is another appropriate place for colleges to learn about family circumstances that might have affected your application to college. If you have experienced challenges related to divorce, be sure to communicate those to your counselor. For example, after your parents split up, you might not have been able to visit a particular college to demonstrate interest. You could need more time for your college search , have less time to devote to extracurricular activities because of your living situation, have gone through a period of time where your academics were affected negatively, or have had to get a job. Regardless of the circumstance, be sure to set a meeting with your counselor to fully explain the circumstances and why you’d like them to be included in the letter. Your counselor can help contextualize your circumstances in the school recommendation letter or forms.

While divorce presents challenges for many students, I’ve also worked with many students who found strengths, hopes, or new opportunities because of the change of circumstance in their lives. Living through a challenge can cause you to become more mature or more flexible. Further, it can introduce more support people – such as stepparents – into your life. Look for those positives and emphasize those in your applications, so colleges will see you gaining self reliance, optimism, and strength.

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Nicole has dedicated the entirety of her 20 year career to encouraging higher education opportunities. After graduating from Vanderbilt, she worked in her alma mater’s admissions office. The, she completed her PhD in Counseling so she could bring that expertise into college counseling. Nicole partnered with her former Vanderbilt colleague, Fitz Totten, to form Find The Right College and support their mission to make trustworthy advising more accessible.

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152 Brilliant Divorce Essay Topics & Examples

For those who are studying law or social sciences, writing about divorce is a common task. Separation is a complicated issue that can arise from many different situations and lead to adverse outcomes. In this article we gathered an ultimate list of topics about divorce and gathered some tips to when working on the paper.

Essays About Divorce: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Essays about divorce can be challenging to write; read on to see our top essay examples and writing prompts to help you get started.

Divorce is the legal termination of a marriage. It can be a messy affair, especially if it includes children. Dividing the couple’s assets also often causes chaos when divorce proceedings are in session. 

Divorce also touches and considers religion and tradition. Therefore, laws are formed depending on the country’s history, culture, and belief system.

To help you choose what you want to talk about regarding this topic, here are examples you can read to get an idea of what kind of essay you want to write.

1. Divorce Should Be Legalized in the Philippines by Ernestine Montgomery

2. to divorce or not to divorce by mark ghantous, 3. what if you mess up by manis friedman, 4. divorce: a life-changing experience by writer louie, 5. divorce’s effects on early adult relationships by percy massey, 1. the major reasons for divorce, 2. why i support divorce, 3. my divorce experience, 4. how to avoid divorce, 5. divorce and its effects on my family, 6. the consequences of divorce, 7. divorce laws around the world.

“What we need is a divorce law that defines clearly and unequivocally the grounds and terms for terminating a marriage… Divorce is a choice and we all should have the freedom to make choices… in cases where a union is more harmful than beneficial, a divorce can be benevolent and less hurtful way of severing ties with your partner.”

As the title suggests, Montgomery and his other colleagues discuss why the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, needs to allow divorce. Then, to strengthen his argument, he mentions that Spain, the root of Christianity, and Italy, where the Vatican City is, administer divorce. 

He also mentions bills, relevant figures, and statistics to make his case in favor of divorce more compelling. Montgomery adds that people who want a divorce don’t necessarily mean they want to marry again, citing other motives such as abuse and marital failure.

“Divorce, being the final step in a detrimental marriage, brings upon the gruesome decision as to whether a married couple wishes to end that once made commitment they had for each other. As opposed to the present, divorce was rare in ancient times…”

Ghantous starts his essay with what divorce means, as not only an end of a commitment but also the termination of legal duties and other obligations of the couple to each other. He then talks about divorce in ancient times, when men had superior control over women and their children. He also mentions Caroline Norton, who fought with English family law that was clearly against women.

“So even though G‑d has rules,… laws,… divine commandments, when you sin, He tells you: ‘You messed up? Try again.’ That’s exactly how you should be married — by treating your spouse the way G‑d treats you. With that much mercy and compassion, that much kindness and consideration.”

Friedman’s essay discusses how the Torah sees marriage and divorce and explains it by recounting a scene with his daughters where they couldn’t follow a recipe. He includes good treatment and forgiveness necessary in spouses. But he also explains that God understands and doesn’t want people in a failed marriage to continue hurting. You might also be interested in these essays about commitment .

“Depending on the reasons that led up to the divorce the effects can vary… I was fourteen years old and the one child that suffered the most emotional damage… My parents did not discuss their reasons for the divorce with me, they didn’t have to, and I knew the reasons.”

The author starts the essay by citing the famous marital promise: “For better or worse, for richer or poorer,” before going in-depth regarding the divorce rate among Americans. He further expounds on how common divorce is, including its legalities. Although divorce has established legal grounds, it doesn’t consider the emotional trauma it will cause, especially for children.

Louie recounts how his life changed when his dad moved out, listing why his parents divorced. He ends the essay by saying society is at fault for commercializing divorce as if it’s the only option.

“With divorce becoming more prevalent, many researchers have taken it upon themselves to explore many aspects of this topic such as evolving attitudes, what causes divorce, and how it effects the outcome of children’s lives.”

Massey examines the causes of divorce and how it impacts children’s well-being by citing many relevant research studies. Some of the things he mentions are the connection between the child’s mental health, behavioral issues, and future relationships. Another is the trauma a child can endure during the divorce proceedings.

He also mentions that some children who had a broken family put marriage on a pedestal. As a result, they do their best to create a better future family and treat their children better.

Top 7 Prompts on Essays About Divorce

After adding to your knowledge about the subject, you’re better prepared to write essays about divorce.

There are many causes of the dissolution of marriage, and many essays have already discussed these reasons. However, you can explain these reasons differently. For example, you can focus on domestic abuse, constant fighting, infidelity, financial issues, etc.

If you want to make your piece stand out, you can include your personal experience, but only if you’re comfortable sharing your story with others. 

If you believe divorce offers a better life for all parties involved, list these benefits and explain them. Then, you can focus on a specific pro of legalizing divorce, such as getting out of an abusive relationship. 

If you want to write an essay to argue against the negative effects of divorce, here’s an excellent guide on how to write an argumentative essay .

This prompt is not only for anyone who has no or sole guardian. If you want to write about the experiences of a child raised by other people or who lives with a single parent, you can interview a friend or anyone willing to talk about their struggles and triumphs even if they didn’t have a set of parents.

Aside from reasons for divorce, you can talk about what makes these reasons more probable. Then, analyze what steps couples can take to avoid it. Such as taking couples’ therapy, weekly family get-together, etc. To make your essay more valuable, weigh in on what makes these tips effective.

Divorce is diverse and has varying effects. There are many elements to its results, and no two sets of factors are precisely the same for two families. 

If you have an intimate experience of how your immediate and extended family dynamic had been affected by divorce, narrate those affairs. Include what it made you and the others around you feel. You might also be interested in these essays about conflict .

This is a broad prompt, but you can narrow it down by focusing on an experience you or a close friend had. You can also interview someone closely related to a divorce case, such as a lawyer, reporter, or researcher. 

If you don’t have any experience with divorce, do not know anyone who had to go through it, or is more interested in its legal aspects, compiles different divorce laws for each country. You can even add a brief history for each law to make the readers understand how they came about.

Are you looking for other topics to write on? Check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

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Essay Samples on Divorce

Divorce is a complex and deeply personal process that involves the legal dissolution of a marriage. It marks the end of a once-promising union and triggers a range of emotions, from sadness and anger to relief and newfound independence. Understanding the intricacies of divorce and its effects is crucial when writing college essays about divorce.

How to Write College Essays About Divorce

When exploring the subject of divorce, it is important to delve into the factors that contribute to its occurrence and look at college essays about divorce examples. These can include communication issues, incompatibility, domestic abuse, financial strain, or even external factors such as societal expectations or cultural norms. Discussing these causes helps paint a comprehensive picture of the complexities surrounding divorce.

To provide a well-rounded perspective for an example of college essay about divorce, consider including statistics or research findings related to divorce rates, average durations of marriages, or common age groups affected by divorce. This data can help support your arguments and provide a factual foundation for your essay.

Additionally, it is crucial to examine the legal aspects of divorce. Different jurisdictions have specific laws and regulations governing the process, including property division, alimony, child custody, and visitation rights. Incorporating information about these legal frameworks can add depth to your essay and showcase a comprehensive understanding of divorce proceedings.

While divorce can be emotionally challenging, it also offers opportunities for personal growth and self-discovery. Discuss the psychological and emotional impacts divorce can have on individuals, as well as strategies for coping and rebuilding one’s life after the end of a marriage.

Lastly, explore the societal implications of divorce. Analyze how divorce impacts the perception of marriage, family structures, and gender roles. Consider the evolving attitudes towards divorce in different cultures and how society supports or stigmatizes individuals going through this process in the divorce essay example.

Cause and Effect of Broken Family: Exploring the Impact on Individuals and Society

A broken family, characterized by divorce, separation, or strained relationships among family members, can have profound effects on individuals and society as a whole. This essay delves into the cause and effect of broken families, and examines the far-reaching consequences on emotional well-being, academic performance,...

Growing Up with Divorced Parents: Discussing the Topic of Divorce With Your Children

“Kids need parents not part-time visitors with a checkbook” how important it is to have to a male figure and a woman figure In your childhood? Understanding that your child’s growing stages could be affected because the child's parent doesn't want involvement with them. How...

Growing Up With Divorced Parents: The Impact of Divorce on the Children

Introduction Evidence suggests that children of divorced or separated parents have a higher tendency of being diagnosed with affective disorders such as depression, in comparison to children with parents who are still together. However, the effect size of this finding is weak. The reasons that...

The Effects Of Divorce On Children

Introduction: Divorces are common; unfortunately, the children are the victims of this decision. One out of every two marriages today end up in a divorce, and many divorced families include children. Parents who are getting divorced every now and then are stressed over the impact...

The Effects Of Divorce On Children In America

Introduction Every year, over a million American youngsters endure the separation of their parents. Separation makes hopeless mischief all included, yet most particularly to the kids. In spite of the fact that it may be appeared to profit a few people in some individual cases,...

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The Effects Of Divorce On Children And Young Adolescents

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The Causes Of Divorce And The Ruined Marriages

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The Causes Of Divorce: The Reason Marriage Fails

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Main Reasons For Divorce In The United States And How It Impacts Family

Approximately 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in separation or divorce. As many understand, this disunion brings about change, oftentimes negative. The majority of households witness increased conflicts among family members, distance, and health-related issues. The increase in division among so many...

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Healthy marriages are important for couples, mental and physical health. However, based on the 2019 American Psychological Association statistics, Divorce has affected 40 to 50% of the total number of married couples all over the globe and has become one of the most prominent contemporary...

Common Social Problems Encountered In Family Life And How They Affect The Marriage

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Divorce Rates In Kenya And Means To Reduce Them

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Divorce Process And Finances In Hennepin County

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Report on the Family Structure of the UK and Changes Within It

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Issues with Divorce in Roman Catholic Marriage

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Why Divorces Become More Frequent: Research Study

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Divorce and Its Rate: Literature Review

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Problem of Divorce Rate in Canada and Its Effect on Children

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How Divorce Has Affected My Future Relationships

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Family and Marriage: The Rate and Percentage of Divorced

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A Smart Exit Strategy Before Initiating The Divorce Process

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Electronically stored Information is increasingly a focus in divorce and child custody cases. Discovered evidence can be used to support or refute legal claims including infidelity, income and spousal/child abuse or neglect. However, this evidence must be handled correctly or you risk having it rejected...

Causes of Divorce Cases in Malaysia and How to Avoid Them Increasing

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For a great deal of untouchables who don't know there is a tremendous measure of reason that causes this tormented condition. Infer a 2006 review by DivorceMagazine.com that asked scrutinizes what had caused their parcel or separation, I found that unfaithfulness or extramarital issue is...

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Examining Injustice in Alimony Laws on Examples of Divorce Cases in Quebec

In Canada, the first ever official divorce laws were adopted in 1960. Back then, marriage was the norm for couples. However, nowadays, couples tend not to get married and opt for common law unions. Despite this situation, spousal support laws haven’t been changed. This essay...

Best topics on Divorce

1. Cause and Effect of Broken Family: Exploring the Impact on Individuals and Society

2. Growing Up with Divorced Parents: Discussing the Topic of Divorce With Your Children

3. Growing Up With Divorced Parents: The Impact of Divorce on the Children

4. The Effects Of Divorce On Children

5. The Effects Of Divorce On Children In America

6. The Effects Of Divorce On Children And Young Adolescents

7. The Causes Of Divorce That Lead To The Annulment

8. The Causes Of Divorce And The Ruined Marriages

9. The Causes Of Divorce: The Reason Marriage Fails

10. The Causes And Effects Of Divorce

11. Main Reasons For Divorce In The United States And How It Impacts Family

12. My Personal Opinion On Why Divorce Shouldn’t Be Legalized

13. Common Social Problems Encountered In Family Life And How They Affect The Marriage

14. Divorce Rates In Kenya And Means To Reduce Them

15. Divorce Process And Finances In Hennepin County

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College Essay: Divorce Teaches Independence

When my dad flipped over the tables and shattered all of the glass in my house one night in 2016, I knew my house wasn’t safe anymore. He and my mom were fighting again. I packed what I needed to move out and find a new place to sleep the next night.

My mom disappeared for two weeks after my dad had this meltdown. I didn’t know where she was. I tried contacting her countless times, with no luck. She turned off her cell phone and the familiar but frustrating auto message greeted me each time.

“Your call has been forwarded to . . .”

I felt so lost without her but I understood that it was best for her safety for her to leave. My dad was still in the family house but I didn’t think staying there was good idea, and my older brother was living elsewhere.

I became homeless. I have a large, extended family, and I bounced from house to house every night for a month because I didn’t want to become a burden on anyone. I often didn’t arrive until 10 p.m. because of tennis practice. I still did my homework, which meant I would not go to bed until 2 a.m., and then I would be up early to go to classes at Harding High School, where I was a sophomore. Life was hard and I was tired!

I settled in with a cousin for a couple of months. My mom finally reconnected with me, and we went out to eat one day. There, she told me something that changed my life completely.

“Your dad and I are filing for a divorce.”

My body froze. I didn’t know how to react.

“It’s okay, don’t cry,” my mom told me. “We’ll talk about it later. Don’t cry.”

I didn’t even realize that I was crying. I stayed quiet and wiped away tears that wouldn’t stop flowing down my face.

When I was finally able to see my mom regularly, she’d moved into an apartment and I split my time with my mom and my cousin. Eventually, my mom and I moved back into the family house after my dad moved to California.

Fortunately, during these tough times I always enjoyed school. My two favorite subjects are chemistry and biology. Because of that I’m interested in becoming a physician’s assistant. I know it will take a long time to achieve that career but I will get there with a lot of hard work and dedication. I’m proving that with my involvement in College Possible, a college readiness program. My coach has helped me prepare for the ACT and to apply to colleges. I’m also doing well in tennis. I play No. 2 doubles and our girls’ team has won the St. Paul Conference four straight years.

I’ve learned a lot in my short life. And I’m not done learning. Being homeless taught me how to become more independent and strong because I was alone and had to provide for myself. I know I will have to do this when I attend college — where my classes and the new environment will test me.

In the end, I want to show my mom my appreciation for her sacrifices. Between my enjoyment of school, my strength and my independence, I will succeed and become the person I want to be.

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You, Your Ex, and College Tuition Costs: How Do Divorced Parents Pay for College?

• By Karen Sosnoski

Published June 10, 2021

“Do most people split down the middle?”

A recent post in Road2College’s Facebook group Paying for College 101 echos the confusion that many divorced parents experience when it comes time to “divvying up” college expenses with ex-spouses.

This poster’s student would be attending a public state college—so far no aid packages had been forthcoming. Fortunately, the parent had reason to expect support for their student from her ex, but with no formal agreement in place, she wasn’t sure how to help her daughter figure out a plan.

“How to move through these conversations [about colleges]?” she asked the other parents.

The question hit a nerve. Other parental responses laid out a spectrum from impossibly frustrating to remarkably easy arrangements for who would pay what for higher education, with a variety of factors playing a role.

When you’re divorced, of course your relationship with your ex (and both your relationships with your child) make a difference in how easily you arrange to save and pay for college together.

Other circumstances though, including state laws regarding who pays what, and guidelines established (or not) in your divorce agreement also play a role. 

Vicki Vollweiler, president and founder of College Financial Prep observes that paying for college as a divorced parent is often quite challenging. When the income of your one household splits in two, expenses increase.

Legal expenses may eat up savings previously set aside for college tuition and support. So how do divorced parents pay for college? Good-as-possible communication, and an awareness of each parent’s role in supporting their student’s education are crucial.

Plan with Your Ex to Support and Pay for College

Should your child attend public or private college? Vollweiler observes that divorced parents may have differing expectations for their child’s education.

One of you might want your child to attend the lowest-cost college, while the other wants them to attend the school with the top-ranked program.

Talk with each other and with your child about how much money you’ve saved for college, Vollweiler advises. How much additional money can be reasonably contributed?

What are each of your goals for your child? And what are your child’s college goals? 

Michele Larson, Founder of Knowledge 4 College suggests parents check each school’s Net Price Calculator (NPC) to get a reasonable estimate of the expected financial aid from that school.

Know Your State’s Divorce Laws

Divorce laws vary from state to state in ways that can affect your college planning. Parents weighing in on the question posed by the Paying for College 101 member about how to divide up paying for college as a divorced parent made it very clear that the legal obligation of both parents depends on where you live. 

According to parents in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, for example, there is no requirement for both parents to pay. This means if your ex is not forthcoming with support and you have nothing written into your divorce agreement, you may not be able to compel them to contribute. 

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, according to Hyde Law Firm, P.A., while it used to be considered unconstitutional for courts to mandate payment for a child’s college expenses, this is no longer the case. This means if you live in South Carolina and your ex is refusing to pony up with college expenses, you can take them to court.

There, a family judge will make a decision about whether to mandate payment and how much based on several factors, including the following: whether or not your child needs the money to attend, is likely to benefit from college, and make satisfactory grades.

The judge also considers whether the parent in question has the ability to help pay. 

If you live in New York, you may be required to contribute to your child’s private education. In this case, you may wish to place a cap on what you each will pay in the divorce agreement.

Review What Your Divorce Agreement Says About College

A good divorce agreement can help stop college planning conflicts before they start—or at least establish perimeters for resolving differences. The divorced parents who seemed happiest in their responses to the Paying for College 101 post about divvying up college payments had plans in place, from alternating who would pay semester by semester to co-funding each child’s 529 plan a certain amount.

Ideally, your agreement should spell out:

• whether both parents must agree on the choice of college. 
• whether or not the parent paying child support is allowed to counter a child’s choice to attend a private college. 
• caps on how much each parent must pay. The SUNY Cap provision, for example, states that even if your student attends a private school, you only have to pay up to the amount you’d have to pay if your child attended the State University of New York (SUNY). 

Gaps in the agreement and/or in the laws of your state might leave open the possibility that one of you, based on your financial ability, will have to pay towards private college, regardless of your preference.

Which Parent Should Own the 529 Plan?

Although states have different plans and investment options, in general, a 529 plan has the advantage of offering tax-free growth. Stacy Francis explains that if your child ends up not needing the funds, distributions up to the amount of the tax-free scholarship will not be subject to the 10 percent penalty tax. Funds may also be transferred to another child, grandchild, or family member.

The owner of the 529 plan controls how the plan is distributed, although, in order to provide accountability to the non-owning parent, divorce agreements might put limits on how the plan’s funds can be used.

The College Funding Coach advises that you should transfer the 529 plan to the custodial parent, the one with whom the child lives for more than half the year. If it is owned by the non-custodial parent, the distributions count as untaxed income of the student, which will increase your student’s EFC the following year and may affect financial aid eligibility. 

How Do Divorced Parents Pay for College? Current FAFSA Guidelines 

Road2College outlines current procedures for filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) when you’re divorced. 

As it stands now, only the income and assets of the custodial parent are included on the FAFSA. For financial aid purposes, the custodial parent is the parent with whom the student spends the most time (183 days or more) during the year.

If the custodial parent has remarried, then the custodial stepparent’s income and assets must also be included. However, if the custodial parent is living with their new significant other but hasn’t remarried, only the custodial parent’s income and assets are included.

If you and your ex are separated and don’t live together, you are treated as if you are divorced.

“Informally” separated couples still file federal income tax returns as married, but only the custodial parent’s information gets reported for financial aid purposes.

If a couple lives together, even if they’re divorced or separated, they are still treated as married on the FAFSA.

FAFSA Changes Impacting Divorced Parents

FAFSA rules will be changing starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, so parents should be aware of  what they can expect (although guidelines are complicated and subject to revision.)

The biggest change will be that under the new FAFSA, the parent who files is the one who provides the most financial support, regardless of with whom the child lives. 

Family size will refer to students, parents, and those claimed as dependents on the filing parent’s Federal Income Tax Return (including qualifying children and qualifying relatives).

You will need to factor family size into your decisions about which parent claims the children as dependents on their federal income tax return as this may affect your children’s eligibility for need-based financial aid. 

Currently, the FAFSA ignores multiple support agreements. The new FAFSA, contrastingly, may consider multiple support agreements in certain cases, such as when both parents provide for their child equally or in alternating years.

Under the new FAFSA, to be considered dependent, children must not provide more than half their own financial support. They must be under age 19, or, if a full-time student, under age 24 as of the last day of the tax year. Married children must not file a tax return with their spouse. 

It is not certain that the FAFSA will treat informally separated parents as divorced. 

FAFSA information will still refer to the prior, prior year. This means if you’re divorced or separated, you’ll need to start planning two years prior, rather than one year prior to the FAFSA award year.

Vicki Vollweiler suggests additional changes to consider:

Parents with two or more children in college at the same time will no longer benefit by having this considered in their Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

The good news is that if both parents (married or divorced) are low income, the FAFSA Simplification Act will make it easier to qualify for Pell Grants. 

 Be aware that the FAFSA Simplification Act may impact current college students as FAFSA should be completed every year that the child is in college.

Clarifying goals and getting up-to-date information will help mitigate education planning conflict with your ex . 

Divorce attorneys, financial planners/advisors, and certified divorce financial analysts may help you stay abreast of how your state’s divorce laws and FAFSA filing changes affect your situation.

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• Divorced Parents

The Challenge

The student and her family needed to search for colleges that would consider only the custodial parent’s financial contribution, while not sacrificing other educational goals such as personal and academic fit.

How We Were Able to Help

The family contacted SFC to present their challenges, and to find an advisor to partner with to balance college dreams with financial complications. Financial Advisor Todd Fothergill and Admissions Specialist Adele Horwitz joined together to address the complications of balancing a dream college search list with very real financial matters.

The goal was to craft and implement a plan to focus on specific academic goals of the student that maintained her individual needs and wants as the priority while also remembering the importance of her need for real-world financial planning.

We helped identify colleges that offered top-notch programs in the student’s desired career field and that had campus environments in which the student would thrive, and cross reference that with colleges that permit families to submit financial information from only the primary custodial parent rather than all known parents. This drastically changed the financial responsibility put on the student, and is key to securing her academic future.

Fulfillment

We met weekly to ensure all boxes were checked and that the student was supported every step of the way. After crafting wonderful essays, improving test scores, filling out every detail on applications, and following through with all the additional tasks, the student received admissions offers to a range of colleges. She was well-suited with merit-based aid to challenge offers, and ended her search by accepting an offer at a wonderful college that comes with a sizable financial aid package based on both need and merit.

The Benefit

Through careful review of finances, school policies, and finally admissions offers, we were able to guide the student and her family to a college in which she will be wonderfully successful and the family will remain financially stable.

Testimonial

“Adele was a fantastic counselor for [my daughter]. She was informative, knowledgeable, kind, and insightful. We definitely learned lots about the admissions process and were guided appropriately. Adele reviewed essays, had weekly calls, and provided the necessary structure to meet all deadlines effectively and efficiently.”

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10 ways that having divorced parents has affected your college life, turning 18 was only half the battle, but at least you learned some tools to help you along the way..

After your parents separated, it wasn't just a matter of court orders and paperwork. It was also weekends, compromising between families, and running around to make the people you love happy, too. When you reach college, a breeding ground of independence and reflection, there's a lot you realize to feel grateful (and still anxious) about.

1. You know how to pack

https://www.pexels.com/photo/boy-in-brown-hoodie-c...

You probably spent a few nights at your mom or dad's place, and whether or not you had your own room, you still had certain toiletries, your favorite pair of jeans, and a pair of shoes you want to wear that you just had to bring. You can pack quickly, efficiently, and you probably rarely forget all the things you need. So for all those team retreats, you have planned, weekends in the mountains with your friends you're anticipating, or a spontaneous sleepover at your significant other's, you're ready with a duffle bag in hand.

2. You can handle different people

https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-toast...

Your parents probably had different parenting styles. One parent is more traditional, the other lax. One easier to talk to, the other you'd have to skirt your way around and omit some information from your day. Even though all parents are like this, when they're separated into different homes and different visitation times, the difference in parenting style is just so much more pronounced. In college, you meet a ton of different people with different ways of dealing with school work, themselves, and you. You know how to notice different cues and adjust accordingly.

3. You know how to compromise

https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-hand-fist-bump-...

Having parents with different parenting styles meant quite the amount of conflict between the two, especially when it came to raising you. There's probably been times where you had to mediate by combining ideas and beliefs or had to split your time to a T so as to be fair. There have also been moments where you hesitate from decisions as you consider how a parent can react or feel about your decision. This ability could help you when coworkers or project mates have conflicting ideas because you can take the best of conflicting perspectives and make a compromise that includes both.

4. Time management isn't a foreign skill to you

https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-ruled-...

Since you only saw one of your parents for a limited time out of the week, you didn't want to spend all that time doing homework! Having divorced parents has helped you manage your time efficiently for the weekends, so you can enjoy it with the people you love. In college, it's a bit more difficult because events tend to happen on the weekend, midterms get scheduled on Mondays, or there is just a lot of work to do between Friday-Sunday. Still, you're still able to schedule efficiently so that you have some time to spend with people or things you care about.

5. You have video chats and call times scheduled

https://www.pexels.com/photo/closeup-portrait-of-y...

College is one of the busiest times in your life, and your schedule is packed but that doesn't mean both of your families don't miss you! Scheduling video chats to update your parents about your life can be difficult to follow sometimes, but when there's that nagging feeling you miss them, you call despite that schedule. It's all about prioritizing that time for both parents.

6. You can recite your day/week 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/notebook-1226398/

Speaking of video chats or calls, you've probably gone through your day at least twice. It's completely fine though because you get different opinions and reactions from either parent as they try their best to still guide you from miles and miles away.

7. If you're close to home, you've also scheduled your own visitation times

https://www.pexels.com/photo/automotive-blur-build...

They got you a car for a reason. Having separated parents and living relatively close to both means you can decide where to go when you're not too busy studying for finals but now that you're 18, it's your job to decide where to go (goodbye, court order!), and it's all about evenly splitting your time amongst the people you love (even if you barely have time for yourself sometimes).

8. If you're not near home, vacations are split to spend enough time with everyone

https://www.pexels.com/photo/flight-sky-clouds-air...

You're attending college, hours away from home or on the other side of the country, meaning you don't have to schedule your weekends to visit your parents. However, that does mean that when the holidays roll around, you're trying to squeeze your friends, your parents, and your alone time in a time span of three weeks. It can be hard to do sometimes, but spending quality time with people you care about makes it worth it.

9. You meet a lot of people who are in the same boat as you!

https://www.pexels.com/photo/backlit-dawn-foggy-fr...

You're exposed to SO MANY PEOPLE in college, and having divorced parents isn't going to be your only common denominator. However, you end up realizing there's a lot of people in the same boat as you, and you just feel a little less alone after having the image of a perfect nuclear family always being shoved down your throat :) Your experiences are different and that's alright!

You realize there's a lot to unpack (and that's okay). 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/photograph-of-men-hav...

Even more okay than realizing your experiences are unique is that some things you grew up seeing or hearing may have not been okay. There could be a lot to address as you mature, especially if your parents separated when you were really young and impressionable. For instance, according to the National Survey of Children's Health, those with divorced parents tend to have more aggressive, and almost violent, ways to deal with conflict with their peers. That's a scary statistic to realize, especially if you see it in yourself and something to talk about with a professional, and that's 100% okay to do.

Every experience is different for those whose parents have divorced. Some good traits benefit you in college, while others are issues you realize needs to be addressed. Sometimes it takes an emotional and physical toll now that you're responsible for the time you spend with everyone, but there is the gratification you feel when you can still turn to your mom or your dad when you need them. Neither the best familial situation nor the worst, just remember that every experience is unique, valid, and okay.

You'll be okay, too.

• The Truth About Growing Up With Divorced Parents ›
• My Parents' Divorce Changed My Life In More Ways Than I Knew ›
• Thoughts From A Child Of Divorced Parents ›
• Parents: How Your Midlife Crisis Affects Your Kids ›
• How My Parents' Divorce Changed My Life ›
• How to Handle Your Child's College Process When You're Divorced ... ›
• 4 Tips for Families Navigating College Financial Aid Amid Divorce ... ›
• What Nobody Tells You About Being an Adult Child of Divorce ›
• When Your Parents Divorce | Focus on the Family ›
• How to keep divorce from sabotaging your children's college ... ›
• Families Who Divorce During a College Kid's First Year ›
• How To Deal With Divorced Parents On Graduation Day, Because ... ›
• Dealing With Parents' Divorce - University Survival ›
• Dealing With Divorce | Family Support | Parent Tips | Parents ... ›
• THE PRICE THEY PAY: OLDER CHILDREN AND DIVORCE - The ... ›

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A long over due thank you note to my greatest passion..

Dearest Yoga,

You deserve a great thank you.

Never would I have thought a few years ago that I would be such a huge yoga fanatic, that I would be hitting the gym almost every day to get to class, and that I would be forming all these amazing relationships with so many incredible people who also share a love for you. You've enhanced my way of life in numerous ways that I need to thank you for.

Thank you for showing me my true strength. Not only physical strength, but more importantly mental strength. You've shown me that I am more than what others may think of me, and that I can rise above any obstacle that comes through my path.

Thank you for helping me to walk through life with grace and passion. To love what I do and love the life that I share with those around me. Before experiencing yoga, I never truly understood what it was like to be passionate about something. Now that I have, not only do I know what it's like to be passionate, but also have a willing to be passionate.

Thank you for teaching me what it is like to appreciate the small things in life. Which has only helped me more to appreciate the big things. You've shown me to not only appreciate the life around me, but also to give myself the appreciation that I deserve. And more importantly, give others the appreciation that they deserve.

Thank you for allowing me to let go. Whenever I feel as if I need a break from the world, the yoga studio is the first place I think of. As soon as I enter the studio, the outside world leaves my mind. You've allowed me an escape that I will be forever thankful for.

Thank you for turning me into a mindful person. Having mindfulness is harder than it seems, especially here in today's society. Over the past couple years, I have become more mindful to the world around me, I have been able to truly be myself and let everyone else be themselves -- all thanks to yoga.

And lastly, thank you for allowing me to breathe. As simple as it sounds, breathing is the one thing that I carry around most with me off the mat. Deep breaths are what get me through the day. Throughout tough situations, emotional battles, and stressful times, I always know to come back to my yoga, to come back to my breath.

I only hope that those around me feel the same way as I do about you, yoga. You have truly transformed my life in the best way imaginable. It is a gift and a great privilege to be able to experience the practice. Thanks to you, I have grown as a person, proved to myself the true strength I have, become more aware and have ultimately started living a better life.

You're the best,

Your Yoga-Obsessed Friend

Epic Creation Myths: Norse Origins Unveiled

What happened in the beginning, and how the heavens were set in motion..

Now, I have the everlasting joy of explaining the Norse creation myth. To be honest, it can be a bit kooky, so talking about it is always fun. The entire cosmos is included in this creation myth, not just the earth but the sun and the moon as well. This will be a short retelling, a summary of the creation myth, somewhat like I did with Hermod's ride to Hel.

The Norse cosmos began with two worlds, Niflheim and Muspellheim. These two worlds, the worlds of primordial cold and fire , were separated by a great fissure called Ginnungagap. The waters from the well Hvergelmir, at the center of Niflheim, by many rivers flowed into Ginnungagap and "when those rivers, which are called Elivagar, came so far from their source, the poisonous flow hardened like a slag of cinders running from a furnace, and became ice. ...Then layer by layer, the ice grew within Ginnungagap" (Byock 13). The northernmost regions of the gap filled with hoar frost and rime, but the southernmost were "the regions bordering on Muspell [and] were warm and bright" (Byock 13). Where the cold of Niflheim's ice and the warmth of Muspellheim's fire met in Ginnungagap the ice thawed, and "there was a quickening in these flowing drops and life sprang up" (Byock 14). From the ice came Ymir, known as Aurgelmir by the giants, the origin of all frost giants. As the wise giant Vafthruthnir says, "'down from Elivagar did venom drop, / And waxed till a giant it was; / And thence arose our giants' race, / And thus so fierce are we found'" (Bellows 76-77).

25 Throwback Songs You Forgot About

But you know you still know every word..

We all scroll through the radio stations in the car every once in a while, whether its because we lost signal to our favorite one or we are just bored with the same ol' songs every day. You know when you're going through and you hear a song where you're just like "I forgot this existed!" and before you know it, you're singing every word? Yeah, me too. Like, 95% of the time. If you're like me and LOVE some good throwback music, here's a list of songs from every genre that have gotten lost in time, but never truly forgotten.

1. "Big Pimpin'" - Jay-Z ft. UGK

Jay-Z gives us a ballad about, you guessed it, pimpin' big in NYC. Jay-Z's rhymes paired with that catchy beat is just bound to get stuck in your head for the rest of the night.

2. "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers

If you say that you don't know any of the words to this song, you're the worst kind of person... a liar. This classic has left stamps of its lyrics on 99% of the population, and has a forever spot in my soul.

3. "Lose Yourself" - Eminem

This song always leaves me feeling like I could sign a record deal and launch my career as a rap/hip-hop legend... and craving spaghetti.

4. "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) - Toby Keith

A ballad for the ages that brings the overly patriotic American badass out of all of us.

5. "Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell Williams

SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

6. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day

This song makes me want to walk down a lonely road, preferably a dark one, and reflect on all of my life choices. Nevertheless, it's still a fantastic song.

7. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" - Panic! At The Disco

If your friends don't "chime in" by screaming the chorus at the top of their lungs in the car with you, it's time to leave them there and find new friends. Also, did anyone ever tell the groom what his bride has been up to?

8. "Semi-Charmed Life" - Third Eye Blind

A life anthem for all of us. Third Eye Blind has recently released another album. My inner child is tingling.

9. "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix A Lot

Nicki Minaj sampled this in her song "Anaconda" in 2014. Take a minute to realize that some people have heard that, but not the REAL jam that the sample came from. Now, cry.

10. "Get Low" - Lil Jon ft. Ying Yang Twinz

The real question is which version is better: Lil Jon's or Sandra Bullock's?

11. "Check Yes Or No" - George Strait

You don't have to be a country lover to know this song. My hardcore rocker/screamo friend even knows the chorus. Don't try and tell me you don't. I don't like liars.

12. "Ride Wit Me" - Nelly

"Ayyyyye, must be the monaaayyy!" - frequently screamed lyric

13. "Pony" - Ginuwine

Even though I can't hear this song without seeing Channing Tatum's half naked body in my mind, it's still one of my favorite songs to hear. Instant day brightener when I hear that funky beat at the beginning.

14. "Cleanin' Out My Closet" - Eminem

As sad as these lyrics are, Eminem really hit this one out of the park.

15. "Gangstas Paradise" - Coolio

10/10 would recommend listening to Weird Al's parody of this song.

16. "It Was A Good Day" - Ice Cube

The first time I heard this may have been on Grand Theft Auto, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a great song.

17. "What's Your Fantasy" - Ludacris

Another song that I knew most of the lyrics to that I probably shouldn't have at a young age.

18. "Everybody (Backstreets Back)" - Backstreet Boys

They really were back, and we all wish they had stayed.

19. "Misery Business" - Paramore

I can't tell if I want to be Hayley Williams or be ON Hayley Williams. I'd be okay with either. #girlcrush

20. "Steal My Sunshine" - Len

This feel good song makes me want to rip open a popsicle and ride my bicycle around town.

21. "Fly" - Sugar Ray

As repetitive as this is, this song will never get old.

22. "Song 2" - Blur

23. "buddy holly" - weezer.

Weezer may have hated this song, but we are glad they recorded it.

24. "No Rain" - Blind Melon

Maybe it's just me who is obsessed with this song, but if you haven't heard it, I highly recommend.

25. "99 Problems" - Jay-Z

I have 99 problems, and this playlist solves all of them.

27 Hidden Joys

Appreciation for some of life's most discredited pleasures..

Life is full of many wonderful pleasures that many of us, like myself, often forget about. And it's important to recognize that even on bad days, good things still happen. Focusing on these positive aspects of our day-to-day lives can really change a person's perspective. So in thinking about the little things that make so many of us happy , I've here's a list of some of the best things that often go unrecognized and deserve more appreciation:

1. Sun showers

3. tight hugs, 4. discovering new foods you like., 5. laying in bed after a long day., 6. and being completely relaxed, 7. "this reminded me of you", 8. breakfast foods, 9. over-sized clothes, 10. contagious laughs, 11. car rides with that one person, 12. random (i miss you/ i love you) texts, 13. the city at night, 14. surprises, 15. blanket cocoons, 16. good hair days, 17. really good coffee, 18. days where you're in a good mood naturally and for no particular reason, 19. conquering a fear, 20. when they give you a lot of guac at chipotle, 21. being so comfortable with someone that you can literally talk about anything, 22. home-cooked meals, 23. tattoo stories, 24. leaves changing color in fall, 25. butterflies in your stomach, 26. peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, 27. when you can't stop laughing, cool off with these 8 beers.

Summer is hot and humid, and it's almost like summer was made specifically to drink the refreshing, cold, crisp wonderful, delicious, nutritious nectar of the gods. Which is none other than beer; wonderful cold beer. With summer playing peek-a-boo around the corner while we finish up this semester, it's time to discuss the only important part of summer. And if you haven't already guessed, it's beer. There are few things I take more seriously than my beer, in order are: sports ... and beer. Here are my favorite summer brews:

Coors Light Summer Brew:

This summer shandy begins this list, it's a mix of lemon, lime and orange. While this is by no means a craft beer, it still has it place as a refreshing summer brew to enjoy.

Leinenkugel Summer Shandy

Solid choice for any summer get together, great taste with a hint of citrus.

Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat

Distinctly reminds me of Fruity Pebbles, but nonetheless is a wonderful summer beer.

Want to know more about beer?

Summertime is the perfect time for beer, and that's why International Beer Day is on August 2nd. Our community has you covered with more stories about beer, including:

• The Benefits of Drinking Beer : Let us count the ways. There are more than you might think.
• Delicious Beer Substitutes : Is beer not typically your thing? Try one of these instead.
• Unique Beer Flavors to Try : Whether it's hard apple cider or the tase of wild blueberries, these are great options.
• If College Majors Were Beers : Business, sports medicine, design – there's a beer for every major.

Sam Adams Summer Ale

Sam Adams is known for their traditional Boston Lager, but their Summer Ale is damn good.

Hell or High Watermelon

Made with real watermelon, not much is more summer-esque than juicy watermelon in July.

Blue Moon Summer Honey

I love me some Blue Moon, so the summer brew is a no-brainer on this list.

LandShark Lager

Fun fact: LandShark is owned by Anheuser-Busch, and is more commonly know as the signature drink of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

Obviously Corona had to take the number one spot. To me, there's nothing more refreshing than a cold Corona with lime on a hot summer day.

So whether you're on a sandy beach, a fishing boat, or at a pool, just remember what our dear friend Jack Nicholson said, "Beer, it's the best damn drink in the world."

Drink responsibly and never drink and drive.

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• Why Does the Common Application Ask Where my Parents Went to College?

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See how your profile ranks among thousands of other students using CollegeVine. Calculate your chances at your dream schools and learn what areas you need to improve right now — it only takes 3 minutes and it's 100% free.

If you have started working on the Common Application, you may be wondering about the Family section, which asks several questions about your parents and siblings, including if and where they attended college. So why exactly do colleges want to know about the rest of your family’s education?

Demographics

For starters, colleges are using this information for demographic purposes. Since they are looking for a diverse freshman class, they want to know the percentage of their students whose parents attended college, as well as the general background of the incoming class.

This information also offers greater insight into students’ applications. It is important to understand the applicants’ backgrounds in order to evaluate their applications fairly and contextually. Students who come from highly educated, affluent families have different circumstances and experiences compared to students whose parents did not attend or graduate college.

Furthermore, students whose parents did attend college are likely to have a better understanding of the admissions process, which in turn gives their children better insight into what admissions committees are expecting from them and their applications. These parents are also more likely to understand the importance of application boosters like extracurricular activities and summer programs , and may be more able — and willing — to pay for them.

In contrast, students who come from less affluent families and have parents who did not attend college may not have had as many opportunities afforded to them. Therefore, colleges may grant more leniency to students who come from families with less educated backgrounds when evaluating grades, test scores, and extracurricular involvement.

Some aspects of applications, such as whether or not candidates are underrepresented minorities (URM), give students a “hook” in the admissions process , offering them a boost that they might not have gotten otherwise.

Because first-generation college students often have fewer resources available to them during the application process, as well as throughout their high school experiences, admissions committees evaluate their applications differently. First-generation college students often enjoy a slight boost in their application because of the difficulties they may have faced in applying to college.

If you have a particularly compelling story about your parents’ education, you may want to expand on it in your essay, if it relates to the topic you have chosen or in the additional information section. For example, if one or both of your parents are immigrants, have low-paying jobs, or don’t speak English as their first language (or at all), colleges want to know , because it indicates that you have faced greater obstacles than some other applicants.

You may want to make your story the subject of your essay. The first topic choice in the Common Application asks about your background or identity, so if you have a meaningful story to share, this is an excellent place to do so .

Legacy Students and Development Cases

Knowing where a student’s family members attended college can also be used to determine whether or not she is a legacy or development case. A legacy student is technically any relative of an alum. However, your legacy status is really only likely to make a difference if you are a child, grandchild, or sibling of an alum, with your parents’ alumni status offering the greatest impact on your application . A development case refers to the child or grandchild of a major donor to the college.

Being a legacy or development case also offers you a hook in the admissions process. Some schools, particularly private, top-tier colleges, give students with these statuses an extra edge. Keep in mind that if you are a legacy at a particular school, your admission is not guaranteed. You still need to have a strong profile comparable to other admitted students for top-tier schools.

However, a legacy status may be a deciding factor in the case of a borderline candidate. Additionally, some schools weigh legacy status more heavily than others. The scales are tipped even more in the applicant’s favor if both of her parents attended a certain college. This is because colleges want to reward family loyalty, as well as encourage donations, which parents and grandparents are more likely to give if their children and grandchildren continue to attend their alma mater.

Development cases have an even stronger edge in the admissions process. Like legacies, these students are typically flagged by admissions officers and set aside for closer review. It is worth noting that development cases don’t refer to applicants who simply come from affluent families. The applicant’s family must have made a large-scale donation — typically in the six-figure or higher range — to be considered a development case. However, most colleges won’t report ranges of donations or exact figures that influence admissions decisions.

Siblings’ Education

The Common Application asks some information about your siblings in addition to your parents. As with your parents, this information is gathered for demographic purposes. If you have an older sibling you attended a college to which you’re applying, this may also provide a hook in the admissions process, giving you a slight boost. However, a sibling’s legacy status is less impactful than a parent’s or grandparent’s.

Why does the Common App ask about my parents’ occupations?

As with your parents’ education, colleges want to know your parents’ occupations for demographic purposes. This also provides some insight into your background and circumstances. Think in broad or general terms when selected form the list of occupations, since a parent’s specific job may not be available as a choice. If you cannot find the occupation or category, select “Other.” If a parent is retired, choose the occupation she had while working, and choose “retired” under the employment status heading.

What if I don’t want to include my parents’ information?

The Common Application asks some other demographic information about your parents, but only requires you to include their marital status relative to each other and with whom you make your permanent home. (For this question, you have the option of listing a guardian, that you are the ward of the court or state, or other if you do not live with either or both parents.) If you record your parents as divorced or widowed, you will also have the option of including stepparents’ information, but are not required to do so.

Next, the application will ask you information about each parent, including name, country of birth, occupation, and education level. You are not required to fill out any of this information if you don’t have it or don’t wish to do so. If that it is the case, select “I have limited information about this parent” under the first question in each parent section, “Parent 1 type” or “Parent 2 type.”

Think carefully about leaving out your parents’ information. There are few cases in which their information will hurt your application, and in many cases, it may help it. If you have some holes in your application due to family circumstances, this section may even help explain them.

Be sure to check out some of CollegeVine’s blog posts on other aspects of the Common App:

• A User’s Guide to the Common App
• How to Receive a Common App Fee Waiver
• Reporting Honors and Awards in the Common App
• How to Fill Out the Common App Activities Section

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

More From Forbes

5 changes to the 2024-2025 fafsa for divorced parents.

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There are several notable changes on the 2024-2025 FAFSA, specific to divorced or separated parents. ... [+]

With school back in session, educational expenses are top of mind for many families. Several changes are being implemented, beginning with the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), that are designed to streamline the application. Some changes apply to all applicants while there are some notable changes specific to divorced or separated parents.

1. Filing the FAFSA

Previously, the parent that the student lived with the most during the past 12 months would file the FAFSA. Now, instead of the custodial parent completing the FAFSA, the parent who provided the most financial support to the student within the last 12 months will file. This parent is referred to as the "contributor." If both parents provide an equal amount of support or if neither parent financially supports the student, the parent with more assets and income will be considered the contributor. Keep in mind that both parents must not live together for these terms to apply. If divorced or separated but living together, then both parents will complete the FAFSA.

Contributor is a new term introduced with the 2024-2025 FAFSA.

2. Non-Contributing Parent

On the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the non-contributing parent is not required to input their financial information. If both parents submit a FAFSA application and it is not required, both sets of financial information will likely be used to calculate financial need. This means your student may receive less aid than they could otherwise be eligible for.

It is important to note that some colleges and institutions will require a College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile. A CSS Profile provides access to non-federal institutional aid and will require financial information from both parents, even if divorced or separated, to be reported.

Some schools request that families complete both the FAFSA and CSS Profile. There are different ... [+] rules and procedures for each of these applications.

3. Remarried Parents

Part of the simplification of the updated FAFSA is that contributors must consent to having the IRS transfer their federal tax information directly to the FAFSA. If the contributing parent is legally remarried at the date of filing of the FAFSA, the stepparent's financial information will likely need to be reported even if they were not married during the tax year in question. A prenuptial agreement does not exempt those assets from being reported.

A new formula, called the Student Aid Index (SAI), may be used to assess how much aid a student ... [+] needs.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, 4. the student aid index (sai).

Previously, the FAFSA calculated the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Going forward, this formula will be replaced by The Student Aid Index (SAI) which uses information from the contributing parent's tax return to assign a number ranging from -1500 to 999999. Your SAI score will help financial aid professionals at schools determine how much support might be appropriate to provide. Some other differences between the EFC and SAI are that the SAI removes the number of family members in college from the calculation and it allows a negative SAI which could increase the likelihood of a student receiving aid. If you experience financial difficulties after filing the FAFSA, such as the loss of income, you can also file a financial aid appeal. This likely requires additional forms of documentation and does not guarantee more financial aid.

5. Child Support and Alimony

Another meaningful change is that child support for all children in a household and alimony received from the non-contributing parent are required to be reported on the FAFSA as part of the SAI calculation. It is now included as an asset rather than income if it is legally required because of divorce and paid directly to the contributing parent.

Be sure to take note of FAFSA deadlines. Each state and school may have a unique due date.

Paying for a student's education can be a significant and stressful undertaking, especially for divorced, separated, or blended families. It is beneficial to consider filing as early as possible as federal aid is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. Although this does not guarantee your student more federal aid, it can increase your chances of receiving grants, scholarships, and work-study opportunities. Additionally, gathering and preparing any necessary documents in advance avoids a last-minute scramble and potential simple errors that cause complications later in the process. FAFSA deadlines can be found here but it is important to note, each school and state may have different deadlines.

The changes to the most recent FAFSA outlined above should help ensure a fair assessment of financial need for students with divorced or separated parents. You can find additional resources on financial aid on the FAFSA and CSS websites.

How will these changes to the FAFSA impact your family’s plan for educational expenses?

This information is for educational purposes and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, accounting, legal, tax, insurance, or investment advice. This does not constitute an offer to provide any services, nor a solicitation to purchase securities. The contents are not intended to be advice tailored to any particular person or situation. We believe the information provided is accurate and reliable, but do not warrant it as to completeness or accuracy. This information may include opinions or forecasts, including investment strategies and economic and market conditions; however, there is no guarantee that such opinions or forecasts will prove to be correct, and they also may change without notice. We encourage you to speak with a qualified professional regarding your scenario and the then-current applicable laws and rules.

Advisory services are offered through Corient Private Wealth LLC and its affiliates, each being a registered investment adviser (“RIA”) regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The advisory services are only offered in jurisdictions where the RIA is appropriately registered. The use of the term registered” does not imply any particular level of skill or training and does not imply any approval by the SEC. For a complete discussion of the scope of advisory services offered, fees, and other disclosures, please review the RIA’s Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) and Form CRS, available upon request from the RIA and online at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/. We also encourage you to review the RIA’s Privacy Policy and Code of Ethics, which are available upon request.

Our clients must, in writing, advise us of personal, financial, or investment objective changes and any restrictions desired on our services so that we may re-evaluate any previous recommendations and adjust our advisory services as needed. For current clients, please advise us immediately if you are not receiving monthly account statements from your custodian. We encourage you to compare your custodial statements to any information we provide to you.

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Essay about parents' divorce?

<p>I want to write about how my parent’s divorce motivated me to become successful. I have read, however, to avoid divorce. Also, is divorce too common of a topic? I feel I could best express myself through the divorce topic but want my essay to not get read as “another divorce essay.” Is divorce an acceptable topic?</p>

<p>Most topics are “acceptable,” but many are discouraged because they are so common that they become trite. If you can avoid this, go for it.</p>

<p>i’d read an impressive essay about parents’ divorce, so i think it is ok if you are sure that this essay can show readers a true you. btw, is divorce a common topic? have no idea about it caused i’d read only one essay talks about it</p>

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This kindergarten teacher’s sweet note made one mom cry

A tearful mom who dropped off her kids at kindergarten received the best encouragement from a teacher.

“She was so warm and welcoming,” Tavia Wade, a mother of three in Utah, tells TODAY.com .

Wade shared what happened in a TikTok video : “My daughter’s kindergarten teacher made me cry today ... I’m dropping my girls off for the very first time, they’re twins, it’s all-day kindergarten, emotional.”

According to Wade, one of her daughters’ teachers handed her a package of tissues attached to a note. “I dare you not to cry when I read this,” Wade said in the video.

The note read:

“I give you a little wink and smile as you entered my room today.

For I know how hard it is to leave and know your child must stay.

You’ve been with them for many years now and have been a loving guide.

But now, alas, the time has come to leave them at my side.

Just know that as you drive away and the tears down your cheeks may flow, I’ll love them as I would my own and help them learn and grow.

So please, put your mind at ease and cry those tears no more. For I will love them and take them in when you leave them at my door.”

The note was signed, “Love, Mrs. Durrant.”

“I was immediately ugly crying,” Wade said in the video. “My husband and I couldn’t even lift our heads until we were halfway home ... we were both uncontrollably crying.”

She adds, “That poem is so sweet, it got me deep in the heartstrings and dropping your kids off at school for the first time is really hard and emotional.”

Wade, who also has a 17-month-old daughter, tells TODAY.com that her twin girls were excited to enter kindergarten. Mom, however, was “a ball of nerves.”

“The girls did preschool three days a week for two hours,” says Wade, “so this was definitely a big change and an adjustment.”

Unlike in preschool, Wade’s twins will be in separate kindergarten classes. Wade says when she handed off one daughter to a teacher named Katie Durrant, she handed her the note and tissues, a gift to all incoming parents.

“You try to keep it together for your kid, so I just smiled with my lip quivering,” says Wade.

Katie Durrant tells TODAY.com that she read the poem on the Instagram page of Maddie Ward , a fellow kindergarten teacher in Florida, who tells TODAY.com that she is unaware of the poem's original author.

Durrant, who has a 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, recalls the anxiety she felt when her eldest started kindergarten.

“I followed the school bus!” says Durrant. “I had to see if she made it inside.” The kindergarten transition for her son was easier because he was a student in her class.

Durrant, who is entering her seventh year of teaching kindergarten, knows it’s hard to say goodbye on the first day.

“We wave and blow kisses to parents,” she says. “Most kids are excited but there can be tears (for both).”

Wade says the note made it easier to step away.

“It’s all you hope for as a parent, knowing your kid is in good hands,” says Wade. “I want teachers to know they matter and if you’re a crying mom, you’re not the only one.”

Elise Solé is a writer and editor who lives in Los Angeles and covers parenting for TODAY Parents. She was previously a news editor at Yahoo and has also worked at Marie Claire and Women's Health. Her bylines have appeared in Shondaland, SheKnows, Happify and more.

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'She wanted to live a good life': Parents of Indian doctor raped and murdered on night shift

The rape and murder of a trainee doctor in India’s Kolkata city earlier this month has sparked massive outrage in the country, with tens of thousands of people protesting on the streets, demanding justice. BBC Hindi spoke to the doctor’s parents who remember their daughter as a clever, young woman who wanted to lead a good life and take care of her family.

All names and details of the family have been removed as Indian laws prohibit identifying a rape victim or her family.

"Please make sure dad takes his medicines on time. Don't worry about me."

This was the last thing the 31-year-old doctor said to her mother, hours before she was brutally assaulted in a hospital where she worked.

“The next day, we tried reaching her but the phone kept ringing," the mother told the BBC at their family home in a narrow alley, a few kilometres from Kolkata.

The same morning, the doctor’s partially-clothed body was discovered in the seminar hall, bearing extensive injuries. A hospital volunteer worker has been arrested in connection with the crime.

The incident has sparked massive outrage across the country, with protests in several major cities. At the weekend, doctors across hospitals in India observed a nation-wide strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), with only emergency services available at major hospitals.

The family say they feel hollowed out by their loss.

“At the age of 62, all my dreams have been shattered," her father told the BBC.

Since their daughter's horrific murder, their house, located in a respectable neighbourhood, has become the focus of intense media scrutiny.

Behind a police barricade stand dozens of journalists and camera crew, hoping to capture the parents in case they step out.

A group of 10 to 15 police officers perpetually stand guard to ensure the cameras do not take photos of the victim's house.

The crime took place on the night of 9 August, when the woman, who was a junior doctor at the city's RG Kar Medical College, had gone to a seminar room to rest after a gruelling 36-hour shift.

Her parents remembered how the young doctor, their only child, was a passionate student who worked extremely hard to become a doctor.

“We come from a lower middle-class background and built everything on our own. When she was little, we struggled financially," said the father, who is a tailor.

The living room where he sat was cluttered with tools from his profession - a sewing machine, spools of thread and a heavy iron. There were scraps of fabrics scattered on the floor.

There were times when the family did not have money to even buy pomegranates, their daughter's favourite fruit, he continued.

"But she could never bring herself to ask for anything for herself."

“People would say, ‘You can’t make your daughter a doctor'. But my daughter proved everyone wrong and got admission in a government-run medical college," he added, breaking down. A relative tried to console him.

The mother recalled how her daughter would write in her diary every night before going to bed.

“She wrote that she wanted to win a gold medal for her medical degree. She wanted to lead a good life and take care of us too,” she said softly.

And she did.

The father, who is a high blood-pressure patient, said their daughter always made sure he took his medicines on time.

“Once I ran out of medicine and thought I’d just buy it the next day. But she found out, and even though it was around 10 or 11pm at night, she said no-one will eat until the medicine is here,” he said.

“That’s how she was - she never let me worry about anything."

Her mother listened intently, her hands repeatedly touching a gold bangle on her wrist - a bangle she had bought with her daughter.

The parents said their daughter’s marriage had almost been finalised. "But she would tell us not to worry and say she would continue to take care of all our expenses even after marriage," the father said.

As he spoke those words, the mother began to weep, her soft sobs echoing in the background.

Occasionally, her eyes would wander to the staircase, leading up to their daughter's room.

The door has remained shut since 10 August and the parents have not set foot there since the news of her death.

They say they still can't believe that something "so barbaric" could happen to their daughter at her workplace.

"The hospital should be a safe place," the father said.

Violence against women is a major issue in India - an average of 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022, according to government data.

The parents said their daughter’s death had brought back memories of a 2012 case when a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang-raped on a moving bus in capital Delhi. Her injuries were fatal.

Following the assault - which made global headlines and led to weeks of protests - India tightened laws against sexual violence.

But reported cases of sexual assault have gone up and access to justice still remains a challenge for women.

Last week, thousands participated in a Reclaim the Night march held in Kolkata to demand safety for women across the country.

The doctor’s case has also put a spotlight on challenges faced by healthcare workers, who have demanded a thorough and impartial investigation into the murder and a federal law to protect them - especially women - at work.

Federal Health Minister JP Nadda has assured doctors that he will bring in strict measures to ensure better safety in their professional environments.

But for the parents of the doctor, it's too little too late.

“We want the harshest punishment for the culprit," the father said.

“Our state, our country and the whole world is asking for justice for our daughter."

Raped Indian doctor's colleague speaks of trauma and pain

Protest at indian railway station over alleged abuse of girls, india gang rape victim's death sparks outrage, the rape victim’s mum fighting for india’s daughters, what do delhi rape hangings mean for women.

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Ben Affleck Landed Back in L.A. with Jennifer Garner After College Drop-Off Hours Before Jennifer Lopez Filed for Divorce

Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck after two years of marriage on Tuesday, multiple sources have confirmed to PEOPLE

Just hours before Jennifer Lopez filed to end her marriage with Ben Affleck , the actor landed back in Los Angeles after dropping his and Jennifer Garner 's daughter Violet off to college.

Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, Aug. 20, multiple sources confirmed to PEOPLE. She listed the separation date as April 26, 2024. She filed the papers herself without an attorney. Tuesday also marked the second anniversary of the pair's traditional wedding in Georgia (they initially tied the knot in Las Vegas on July 17, 2022).

Shortly before her filing, Affleck was photographed returning to L.A. with Garner after taking Violet, 18, to college at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

After getting off the plane, Garner and Affleck got in the car and left together.

MediaPunch/BACKGRID (2)

On Monday, a source told PEOPLE that Affleck "has been very focused on getting Violet ready for move-in " amid his and Lopez's marital tension.

"It’s, of course, a huge deal for the whole family, and they’ve all been so excited the last few weeks," the source added.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Days before, he marked his 52nd birthday with a "small birthday celebration at home "with his kids. Lopez also stopped by for the occasion, a source told PEOPLE at the time.

"It's exactly what he wanted. He didn't want to go out to celebrate. The kids had gifts for him, and it was cute," says the source. " Jennifer [Lopez]  stopped by to congratulate him."

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

The insider continued, "The kids were with Ben for most of the day. He didn't leave the house at all for his birthday."

Affleck and Garner, whose divorce was finalized in 2018, also share Seraphina , 15, and  Samuel , 12.

Related Articles

Harvard’s Institute of Politics Announces Fall 2024 Resident Fellows

Introduction

CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School today announced the appointment of six Resident Fellows who will join the IOP for the Fall 2024 semester. The fellows bring diverse experience in politics, elected office, polling, journalism, and economic development to address the challenges facing our country and world today.

"We are thrilled to welcome this Fall's cohort of Resident Fellows to Harvard to engage and collaborate with our students and community, and to get their thoughts and insight in the final few months of this year's historic election. Their diverse experiences will no doubt inspire our students to consider careers in public service and prepare them to provide essential political leadership in the months and years ahead," said IOP Director Setti Warren .

"We are excited to have such a remarkable group of Fellows at the IOP this Fall. They bring varied perspectives on how to best approach some of our country's most consequential challenges, and I am confident our students will gain important insight into the fields of politics, civic engagement, journalism, and more," said Michael Nutter , Chair of the Institute of Politics' Senior Advisory Committee, and former Mayor of Philadelphia.

"We are thrilled to welcome the incredibly accomplished members of the 2024 Fall Fellows Cohort as we begin the fall semester prior to the incredibly important U.S. election. As we close out the 'biggest election year in history,' our world remains in the throes of a major period of democratic backsliding. American voters, including many Harvard students, will once again face the possibility of reactionary backsliding and threats to fundamental rights. Closer to home, we are keenly aware of the threats to free speech on campus. While this semester will bring renewed challenges to and debates concerning those fundamental rights, we are hopeful that study groups will remain a source of vibrant, productive, and gratifying discussions on Harvard's campus. In that spirit, this semester's cohort of Fellows will bring in critical perspectives from the varied worlds of governing, policymaking, polling, reporting, and campaigning to equip students with the tools necessary to create a better tomorrow. We are confident that this cohort of Fellows will help this program to remain a bastion of freedom of speech and civil discourse on Harvard's campus," said Éamon ÓCearúil ‘25 and Summer Tan ‘26 , Co-Chairs of the Fellows and Study Groups Program at the Institute of Politics.

IOP Resident Fellows are fully engaged with the Harvard community. They reside on campus, mentor a cohort of undergraduate students, hold weekly office hours, and lead an eight-week, not-for-credit study group based on their experience and expertise.

Fall 2024 Resident Fellows:

• Betsy Ankney: Former Campaign Manager, Nikki Haley for President
• John Anzalone: One of the nation's top pollsters and strategists, and founder of Impact Research, a public opinion research and consulting firm
• Alejandra Y. Castillo: Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
• Asa Hutchinson: Former Governor of Arkansas and 2024 Presidential Candidate
• Brett Rosenberg: Former Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council and Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Department of State
• Eugene Scott: Host at Axios Live, and former reporter who has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international level, including at the Washington Post and CNN

Brief bios and quotes can be found below. Headshots are available upon request.

Betsy Ankney Ankney is a political strategist with over 15 years of experience on tough campaigns. She has been involved in campaigns and Super PACs at the national and state level and played a role in some of the biggest upsets in Republican politics. She has been an advisor to Ambassador Nikki Haley since 2021, serving as Executive Director for Stand for America PAC and most recently as Campaign Manager for Nikki Haley for President. After starting with zero dollars in the bank and 2% in the polls, the campaign defied the odds, raised $80 million, and Nikki Haley emerged as the strongest challenger to Donald Trump. Ankney served as the Political Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2020 cycle. She advised senate campaigns across the country, working directly with candidates and their campaigns on budgets, messaging, and fundraising. Prior to her work at the NRSC, Ankney managed multiple statewide campaigns, including Bruce Rauner for Governor in Illinois and Ron Johnson for Senate in Wisconsin. For her work on Ron Johnson’s race, she was named “Campaign Manager of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants for 2016. Ankney got her start in politics at the 2008 Republican National Convention and served in various roles at the Republican National Committee as well as on multiple campaigns and outside efforts. She serves on the boards of The Campaign School at Yale and The American Association of Political Consultants. She is from Toledo, Ohio and attended Vanderbilt University.

"I am honored to be a part of the fantastic program at the Harvard Institute of Politics. As we enter the final stretch of one of the wildest and most unpredictable election cycles in modern history, I look forward to having conversations in real time about our political process, what to look for, and why it matters." – Betsy Ankney

John Anzalone Anzalone is one of the nation’s top pollsters and messaging strategists. He has spent decades working on some of the toughest political campaigns in modern history and helping private-sector clients navigate complex challenges. He has polled for the past four presidential races, most recently serving as chief pollster for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. In that role, he helped develop the messaging and strategy that drove paid communications, major policy rollouts, speeches, and convention thematics. He has also polled for the campaigns of President Obama and Hillary Clinton, and has helped elect U.S. senators, governors, and dozens of members of Congress. Anzalone works with governors across the country, including current Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI) and Roy Cooper (NC). He polls regularly for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Senate Majority PAC, and AARP. With more than 30 years of experience in message development and strategic execution, he has been called on by key decision-makers, executives, and CEOs to provide counsel in a changing world and marketplace. He has extensive experience using research and data to break down complex subjects into digestible messages that resonate with target audiences. He grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan, and graduated from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is married and has four children, two dogs, and lives in Watercolor, Florida.

"After a 40-year career in politics I am so excited to give back by sharing and mentoring politically active and curious students, but also to have an opportunity to learn from them myself. During the next three months we will be living the 2024 elections together in real time. There is nothing more exciting than that regardless of your political identity." – John Anzalone

Alejandra Y. Castillo The Honorable Alejandra Y. Castillo was nominated by President Biden and sworn in as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development on August 13, 2021, becoming the first women of color to hold this position. Ms. Castillo led the Economic Development Administration (EDA) between August 2021-2024 through an unprecedented moment of growth and opportunity. As the only federal agency focused exclusively on economic development, she guided EDA’s the implementation of over $6.8 billion dollars in federal funding, powering EDA and its mission to make transformational placed-based investments to support inclusive and equitable economic growth across America. Spanning over two decades of public service and non-profit work, she has served in three Presidential administrations --Biden, Obama and Clinton. Her career has also included a drive to shattering glass ceilings and providing inspiration to multiple generations of diverse leaders. Castillo is an active member in various civic and professional organizations, including the Hispanic National Bar Association, the American Constitution Society, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. Castillo holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook; a M.A. in Public Policy from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; and a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law. A native of Queens, NY., the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

"I am excited to join this Fall semester IOP Fellowship class and have the opportunity to engage with students and faculty members across the University. The IOP fellowship presents a great forum to discuss and evaluate the future of U.S. industrial strategy and economic growth in light of the historic federal investments in place-based economic development during the last three years. I am honored to join my colleagues in making this an exciting and informative semester for students." – Alejandra Y. Castillo

Asa Hutchinson Governor Asa Hutchinson is a former Republican candidate for President of the United States. He served as the 46th Governor of the State of Arkansas and in his last election, he was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, having received more votes than any other Republican candidate for governor in the State’s history. As a candidate for President, Hutchinson distinguished himself as an advocate for balancing the federal budget, energy production and enhanced border security. He also was a clear voice for the GOP to move away from the leadership of Donald Trump. Hutchinson’s time as governor is distinguished by his success in securing over $700 million per year in tax cuts, safeguarding the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax, shrinking the size of state government, creating over 100,000 new jobs and leading a national initiative to increase computer science education. The Governor’s career in public service began when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Governor Hutchinson to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Border Protection. He is a former Chairman of the National Governors. He grew up on a small farm near Gravette. He and his wife, Susan, have four children and seven grandchildren. Governor Hutchinson is currently CEO of Hutchinson Group LLC, a security consulting firm.

"After 8 years as Governor it is time to teach and mentor. I am honored to have the opportunity this fall to share my experiences and perspective but to also learn from the students and my colleagues who will also be resident fellows at the IOP. The timing is historic with our democracy facing a critical choice this fall as to the direction of our country." – Asa Hutchinson

Brett Rosenberg Rosenberg is a foreign policy expert who has served in the White House, Department of State, and Senate. During the Biden Administration, Rosenberg was the inaugural Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, President Biden’s and the G7’s flagship program designed to meet infrastructure needs in low- and middle-income countries. At the White House, Rosenberg served on the National Security Council as Director for Strategic Planning, working on shaping and realizing approaches to issues spanning from international economics to Western Hemisphere engagement, as well as helping to write the National Security Strategy. Prior to her service in the Biden administration, Rosenberg was Associate Director of Policy for National Security Action, where she remains a senior advisor. Rosenberg began her career in Washington as a legislative aide to then-Senator Kamala Harris, where she advised the senator on a range of domestic and economic policy issues. Rosenberg is a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and her writing has appeared in outlets including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, and McSweeneys. She received her A.B. in History from Harvard College and her PhD (DPhil) in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

"What a privilege it is to be part of this incredible community in this incredible moment. I can't wait to learn from the students, faculty, and other fellows as we dive in together to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world." – Brett Rosenberg

Eugene Scott Eugene Scott is a host at Axios Live, where he travels the country interviewing political and policy leaders. He was previously a senior political reporter for Axios covering 2024 swing voters and voting rights. An award-winning journalist, Scott has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international levels. He was recently a national political reporter at The Washington Post focused on identity politics and the 2022 midterm election. Following the 2020 presidential election, he hosted “The Next Four Years,” then Amazon’s top original podcast. He also contributed to “FOUR HUNDRED SOULS: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019,” which topped the New York Times’ bestseller list. In addition to writing, Scott has regularly provided political analysis on MSNBC, CBS and NPR. Scott was a Washington Correspondent for CNN Politics during the 2016 election. And he began his newspaper career at the Cape Argus in Cape Town, South Africa not long after beginning his journalism career with BET News’ “Teen Summit.” Scott received his master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and his bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media. He is a D.C. native and continues to live in the Nation’s Capital.

"Learning from and with the professionals that visited the IOP during my time on campus was one of the highlights of my time at the Kennedy School. I am eager to help lead students in understanding the press and this country as we navigate the final weeks of arguably the most consequential election of our time." – Eugene Scott

Additional information can be found here .

About the Institute of Politics Fellows Program The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School was established in 1966 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The Institute’s mission is to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to pursue pathways in politics and public service. The Institute blends the academic with practical politics and offers students the opportunity to engage in current events and to acquire skills and perspectives that will assist in their postgraduate pathways.

The Fellows Program has stood as the cornerstone of the IOP, encouraging student interest in public service and increasing the interaction between the academic and political communities. Through the Fellows Program, the Institute aims to provide students with the opportunity to learn from experienced public servants, the space to engage in civil discourse, and the chance to acquire a more holistic and pragmatic view of our political world.

For more information on the fellowship program, including a full list of former fellows, visit: iop.harvard.edu  

Press Releases

Where did Kamala Harris grow up? A timeline

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was born in the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964.

Her birth certificate shows that her parents were living in Berkeley at the time, just blocks from the University of California-Berkeley, where her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, graduated with a PhD in nutrition and endocrinology the same year in pursuit of becoming a cancer researcher.

Her father, Donald Harris, also earned a graduate degree, in economics, from UC-Berkeley and had a long career in academia.

The two met there in 1962 in a study group focused on civil rights activism, a community that they were both deeply involved in and passionate about. They were married the next year.

Kamala’s sister, Maya, was born in 1966.

When the future vice president was a child, her family moved around often, as is common for early-career academics.

Harris’ father was hired at the University of Illinois in 1966 and they moved to Urbana, Illinois, for a year.

From 1967 to 1968, they lived in Evanston, Illinois, where Donald Harris taught at Northwestern University.

In 1968, they moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he taught and she did cancer research at the University of Wisconsin.

Kamala Harris would go to visit her father’s family in Brown’s Town, Jamaica, and her mother’s, in Chennai, India.

Her parents separated while they were living in Madison and Shyamala returned to California with the two girls in 1970.

Donald Harris remained in Madison until 1972, when he left to teach economics at Stanford University, where he remained until 1998 and is now a professor emeritus.

Once both her parents were living in California again, Harris and her sister would live with her father in Palo Alto on the weekends.

During the week, they lived with their mother in Berkeley. The apartment above a daycare in the yellow house on Bancroft Way was featured in childhood photos in some of the videos shown at the Democratic National Convention this week.

The “flatlands” area of West Berkeley where Shyamala and her daughters lived was a predominately Black neighborhood. “From almost the moment she arrived from India,” Harris wrote in her memoir “The Truths We Hold,” “she chose and was welcomed to and enveloped in the black community.”

Kamala was bussed a few miles away to Thousand Oaks Elementary School as California schools were being desegregated.

In 1976, Shyamala got a job at Jewish General Hospital conducting breast cancer research and teaching at the McGill University medical school in Montreal, Canada.

Kamala and Maya would go back to California to stay with their father during school breaks.

In francophone Quebec, Kamala attended a French-language elementary school and an English-language high school. She wrote in her memoir of being intensely homesick for California during that time.

She attended Vanier College in Montreal for a year before moving to Washington D.C. in 1982 to attend Howard University, where she graduated in 1986 with a bachelor’s in political science and economics. She was elected to the student council, active in the anti-apartheid movement, part of the debate team and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

She returned to California to attend the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in San Francisco, where she served as president of the Black Law Students Association and graduated with in 1989.

Need help with creative hook sentence for college essay about divorced parents

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To the Editor:

Re “ Tim Walz, Protect My Son as You Do Yours ,” by Tina Brown (Opinion guest essay, Aug. 24):

Thank you, Tina Brown, for expanding readers’ understanding of neurodivergent persons. As the proud father of a 14-year-old son with developmental disabilities, I, like Ms. Brown, recognized Tim Walz’s son, Gus, as “one of ours” — a sweet, sensitive-looking, neurodivergent person who appeared somewhat unsure of himself during his father’s nomination acceptance speech.

When Gus met his father’s declaration of love for him by standing up, pointing at the stage and shouting through tears “That’s my dad!,” my heart exploded.

My son’s third-grade teacher once asked his class of various neurodivergent children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” He responded, “I just want to be a good dad.” I have never felt more recognized and honored in my life.

Neurotypical people have something important to learn from Gus Walz’s unfiltered love, my son’s thinking and Ms. Brown’s son’s (Georgie’s) matter-of-fact honesty. In our constant reading of others, we can miss the truth of our own experience.

Paul Siegel New York The writer is a professor of psychology at Westchester Community College and Purchase College, SUNY.

Who knew that Tina Brown and I might ever have anything in common, let alone that we could share a gigantic part of our emotional makeup as parents of neurodivergent children. The cult of Trump has amply demonstrated what Ms. Brown, Gwen and Tim Walz, and countless other devoted parents like us already know: Too many of the cruel, tiny-minded bullies who mocked and stalked our kids starting in early childhood have grown into adults who are just like that.

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