The goal of the essay (IMO) is to make the reader think, “I’d like this person in my class” or “This person would be fun to have as a roommate.” You can certainly do that by showing your studious side if that is who you are. A good start may be to list all the traits about yourself you might want to illustrate: I’m studious, I’m curious, I’m a good friend, I have a good sense of humor, I care about people, I’m a computer nerd, I like to teach myself stuff, I’m a dreamer, I get my best ideas while dancing. Then think of some things you have done that might illustrate that in an engaging way.
My older son (the computer nerd) started his essay with the results of a computer program he had written. His essay made clear that he was a kid who would teach himself far beyond what the high school curriculum offered.
My younger son talked about visiting a paper museum in Japan when he was young and how that started a lifelong interest in origami. He wrote about it in a humorous way. In fact all of his essays showed his sense of humor along with a thoughtfulness about how the world works.
Our high school did an okay job of teaching writing, but the sort of writing these essays require is nothing like a research paper. My kids learned to write by being avid readers and they both looked at a lot of sample essays. (Many colleges post ones the like and there are lots of books at the library.)
Here on CC I like the advise here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-essays/979752-easy-exercise-to-get-started-on-a-terrific-essay-p1.html and I liked this too: http://admissions.tufts.edu/blogs/inside-admissions/post/500-words-or-less/