<p>The key: don’t focus on the traumatic event. Focus on what you learned from it, and how it lead to you becomming the person you are today. Not taking IB courses is not what I’m talking about; becomming a better person is. If you can’t explain in a succinct way what you learned from this event and how it changed you and your important views on life, then look for another topic.
Otherwise, traumatic essays tend to come across as just whiny and self-pitying.</p>