Essays / Need help with thesis for Common app (indicating an influential person in my life) [2]

I'm not a very good essay writer so I'm not exactly sure how to start my essay. The topic is indicating an influential person in my life and the impact they have on me. I want to write about my parents and the hardships they've gone through in the passed 5 or 6 years and how it has helped me become more mature, more respectful of life and all it has to offer, and how to deal with hardships of my own.