Many students choose to write about their families because this topic offers a lot of potential material. Narrow your topic to an event that you and your family attended, such as your cousin's commitment ceremony, and describe how this event changed your personal perspective and with it your outlook on life. Another angle is writing about an event surrounding a particular family member as a way to discuss the influence that this person had in your life. For example, learning to make pie with your grandmother has the potential to be a good topic because it will allow you to extend the topic to how this activity taught you the importance of family tradition and honoring your Dutch heritage.
Events or other special occasions are good choices for essay topics as well. For example, you could discuss the difficulty you had ordering in a restaurant in Portugal, how you overcame the communication problem, and then describe how that event led you to understand the commonalities in human communication. Another possible topic would be the hours you spent studying leading up to your bar mitzvah and how this training reconnected you to your faith. Unusual events or events that caused a life change for you will make fine topics because they allow the admissions committee a glimpse of what is important to you as well as your writing skills.
High school events are another topic that many students choose to write about. If you are writing about them, remember that the college admissions committee will see many topics about high school, so make sure that the angle you take on your essay stands out. For example, many students will discuss their first love and breakup. If you choose either of these topics, use them to highlight an larger underlying theme that will make your essay stand out, such as how the breakup made you realize the importance of retaining your friends or how the breakup forced you to become more serious about your studies.
When you discuss personal topics, make sure to explain how they have shaped your life and not just what they mean to you on an individual basis. For example, your two weeks in juvenile detention or your struggles with addiction may have been life changing, and these experiences would make fine essay topics if you take care to explain how they taught you valuable lessons and helped to build character. However, some topic are best left undiscussed for certain audiences. For example, if you are applying to a religious school or a conservative school, you probably would not want to discuss losing your virginity or your first taste of alcohol. Use your best judgment when you choose a topic, and keep your audience in mind.