<p>My dad died when I was 12. He was an extraordinary man and my best friend, and I have plenty that I could write about his death. Should I? I've heard from some that that's a really terrible thing to write about because my essay would just be one more depressing thing to read. I've also heard that showing what I've been through could show how resilient I am. Also, I don't want to milk his death. Thoughts?</p>
<p>It all depends on how you write the essay. </p>
<p>My D1, who’s father died when she was 8, wrote an essay about how reading works by a poet from the country that her father was from helped her both to feel closer to him and to find something in common with her paternal relatives who she sees relatively infrequently due to them living far away. So, in the absence of her father, poetry acts as a bridge, both to her past and her future.</p>
<p>While the essay does address the death of her father, it is intended to illuminate something about how SHE thinks and views the world, not simply a sad tale of her life.</p>