I'm starting to write my essay about my personal growth since the passing of my father but I am not sure how to go about it without it seeming too "sad"

[Publisher]

@SpringRegret

My goal is to use that experience as a starting point to show how I’ve grown in terms of resilience, maturity, motivation, how I’ve changed the way I approach life, etc and want the essay to reflect the mindset I developed after going through that and how I carry that into everything I do now.

This is an excellent start. Focus on the positives that came from a gut-wrenching experience. Write about motivation, seriousness of purpose, goals, and lessons learned (values derived) from the realities of life.