Pick a topic from the list or come up with your own essay idea. Feel free to be creative!
Note: Some of these can fall into more than one category. More than one person can write about the same topic.
Occupations
To be a welder
To be a teacher
To be a plumber
To be a politician
To be a wood hauler
To be a city planner
To be an historian
To be a park manager
To be a librarian
To teach high school English
To be a soldier
To work at Camp Ripley
To own a bar
To be a social worker
To be a farmer
To be a radio announcer
To own a business / be an entrepreneur
To run an historic site
To be a writer
To be a musician
To be a student
To be the Sheriff
To be the Mayor
To be an artist
To be a cook
To be a mechanic
To be a janitor
To be a lawyer
To be an accountant
To be a doctor/dentist/nurse, etc.
To work in a nursing home
To be a veterinarian
To attend a one-room school house
To attend Lincoln, Royalton, Dr. S.G. Knight, etc.
To be a surveyor
To bag groceries
Hobbies/Avocations
To be an athlete (golfer, basketball player, gymnast, dancer, bowler, etc.)
To be an actor
To be a knitter/quilter/crocheter
To be a home brewer
To train a dog / to own a cat or fish or bird or hamster
To collect stamps
To be a reader
To paint oil paintings
To keep a journal
To be a hunter
To ride a motorcycle
To bake pies
To play the drums
To be a gardener
To be a movie lover
To be a shopper
To be a coupon clipper
To be a traveler
To be a geocacher
To be a tinkerer
To be a blogger
To be a volunteer
To research family history
To eat out
To fish
To go boating
Identities
To grow up gay
To be transgender
To be conservative/liberal/moderate
To be part of a particular religion (Lutheran, Catholic, Jewish, Pentecostal, etc.)
To be an atheist or agnostic
To have polio, diabetes, cancer, a mental illness, etc.
To be poor / wealthy / middle class
To be homeless / to own a home / to live in an apartment
To be an addict
To be a pack rat or hoarder
To be a Baby Boomer/Gen X/Millennial, etc
To be a woman/man/child
To be an immigrant
To be adopted
To be arrested / to serve time in jail
To be black/white/brown
To be an outsider
To be a Snow Bird
To be a vegetarian
To live in a nursing home
To be a veteran
To raise a child
To be disabled
To be a crime victim
To be abused
To be an alcoholic
To live with an alcoholic
To speak a language other than English
Life Tasks
To walk the dog
To can pickles
To rake the yard
To go hiking
To shovel snow
To rake snow off the roof
To jump in puddles
To hang laundry to dry
To find an apartment
To grill
To go shopping (make this specific – shopping where?)
To adopt a pet
To grow peppers, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, hops, etc.
To play pull tabs
To go to church
To calm a screaming toddler
To hold a new baby
To change a diaper
To visit someone in a nursing home
To sneak out of the house without your parents’ permission
To clean a wound
To get a speeding ticket
To go to court
To pay bills
To give birth / to adopt a child
To have step-children or foster children
To attend a funeral
To vote
To build something out of Legos
To milk cows / goats
To follow friends on Facebook
To create a digital drawing
To play an online game
Printable version of Suggested Topics (pdf file)