I have been out of school for 20 years
Well, that's good news, because we grownups are able to look at the art of composition with some life-perspective. We can see what an essay actually is.
This should be an expression of a meaningful idea. One essay = one big idea.
Each paragraph is a smaller idea that supports the big idea.
So... choose a statement that rings true to you but that not everyone would agree with. Imagine you say the statement to me and I say, "You can't be serious," and then you would say why it is true. Do that in a paragraph right now.
Just do it... do that one paragraph where you argue in favor of one of the statements (or against).
When you have that para, the rest of the essay will just all spill out. When you have that para, you will immediately know which statement you want to use as the less reasonable one. The trick to getting through this is taking the first little step.
*** Write the thesis statement only after you have written 2 body paragraphs.