Yes. And you may also want to add anything you learned about yourself studying alone to catch up. Maybe it made you appreciate an energized classroom, for example.
And yes, the essay is fine if it revealed who you are as a person. The whole point of the essays is the creation of a human, not just an assembly of stats. The only caveat is if you are stating that your #1 goal in life is to do that professionally or at an Olympic level – something that would suggested to the school that they can’t help you be who you want to be.