Rules about using 'I statements' for a hook

Hello,

I'm new to the forum, I'm ironing out my essay and I'm glad I found this great forum, especially 'cause it's due tonight.

My question is regarding hooking the reader. I have my first sentence beginning with 'I could have been...', but I'm not sure that it is correct to start a personal statement with 'I.'

Thank you in advance and I'll continue reading through the great examples on the forum to get help in other areas.

College essays and personal statements should be written in the first person, so I could not imagine why it would be incorrect to use an I statement in the first sentence...

Personally I don't mind either and use them interchangeably with great results

If it's a personal statement, "I" is pretty vital and entirely correct. I assume the essay is asking about the subject "You," so it's fairly personal, just not so much as to permit colloquial language and grammar.