My unique feature. Being resistant to adversity. University of Virginia supplement Essay

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We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are.

a light at the end of the tunnel

A hope-neutraliser tablet as soon as I wake up, doubt-generator syrup after the lunch and a regret-stimulator dose from injection before I sleep.
Listen-but don't tell anybody- I am an optimist and all aforementioned tablets and syrups are the prescription that Dr. Pessy (MBBS, Doubt Medical University) offered to cure my disease.

I was 6 years old when my parents realized that I had this unfavorable quality. When my RC helicopter would lost track of the remote and break down upon striking onto the grounds, I wouldn't cry; instead, I would start jumping in a hope that my new toy would come soon. When my father got a brain stroke and the doctors told he would never be able to walk, I was still smiling- smiling in a thought that he won't have to leave us for his job and would stay with us at home forever.

I hope, by now, you are well acquainted with the severity of my disease. But I believe, this disease is a unique feature bestowed upon me in this struggle-of-existence. It has galvanized me to retaliate against the obstacles that intermittently pop out of nowhere. Knowing that there is light at the end of every tunnel has always prevented me from drowning in despair and tackling the problems without escaping from them.

After all, we are such a miniature object living inside a speck of dust in this universe. Why not live it like if it were a game where victory is sure!

Shreehar, I am not sure if you are actually describing a veiled illness in this essay or if you are just making light of your tendency to see the positive side of the darkest events. The opening statement of your essay is really confusing as it is supposedly describing and "illness" that you have. Had you better formatted the opening statement to instead describe the trait as a quirk, then it would have been better aligned with the rest of the paragraphs that you developed. Your quirk is something that makes you a unique person and will no doubt help you survive the rigors of college life. However, the way that you portray it in the essay does not define it as a quirk but rather an illness that requires medication. Don't do that. Confusing the reader as to whether this is an actual illness or a quirk will not help. I know you were trying to make it comical and light. It backfired. Go for another approach. One that will clearly describe this quirk that you have as exactly that, a quirk. Do not use the terms illness or disease because that totally changes the story you are telling in the essay and doesn't follow the original prompt requirements you were provided with. A quirk is a peculiar trait while an illness is an unhealthy condition of the body or mind. If you are describing an illness, then that is not a quirk.

Please suggest me how to start