<p>Is starting with a quote to cliche?</p>
<p>Not if you do it well.</p>
<p>I can judge you only if you post some context here. 
The quote and the first couple sentences? </p>
<p>What I would warn against is ending with it again, or writing your essay around the quote rather than creating your own insight. Don’t let it control you - just use it as an interesting segue into your own thoughts.</p>