<p>Don't be so afraid of cliche. I know you want to be original, but you don't want to weird them out. The essay is about your life, so think about things that have made you who you are today. The adcoms don't want to see your personal qualities through a description of the aforementioned - they want to be shown what makes you different, special, and a great person to have around. If you can write about a cliche topic in a heartfelt and well-written manner, it may cease to be cliche and instead become uniquely you.</p>