Did I indirectly make my friend uncomfortable by talking about something sad?

Did I indirectly make my friend uncomfortable by talking about something sad? My friend and I are both applying to grad school. We were in the library studying with another friend, and he asked us if our personal essays were more sentimental. I told him that mine was. Our other friend asked me what it was about. So I told her that it was about how people used to make fun of my stutter when I was younger. And even to this day, some of my relatives tease me. My friend told me not to make my essay too sentimental. He wasn’t saying it in a mean way. He was being more matter-of-fact about it. I said “yeah, I don’t want to make it seem like I’m just trying to make them feel bad for me”. He said “right, like you don’t want to seem like you’re begging”. About a year ago, he shared with me how he also had a speech impediment. So maybe my stutter kind of reminded him of his past?