The good thing about my autism and love of superheroes is that it led me to the world of Tumblr activism. Being awkward in real life, I turned to the Internet years ago to find something to be confident with, and the strongest common ground we have is what we like to read and watch. But comic book fans, like any group of people, can still have a significant portion of racists and sexists and homophobes. I have absolutely no tolerance for intolerance, and I learned to fight back.
I don’t understand how people can be so callous. I don’t understand the big bad world out there that somehow stops people from remembering that everyone has feelings too. But I keep posting and I keep talking, and if it all gets to be too much, well, that’s when the music turns on and I drift back into the happy world where even the overgrown children are okay.
The University of Colorado Boulder's Flagship 2030 strategic plan promotes exceptional teaching, research, scholarship, creative works, and service distinguishing us as a premier university. We strive to foster a diverse and inclusive community for all that engages each member in opportunities for academic excellence, leadership, and a deeper understanding of the world in which we live. Given the statement above, how do you think you could enrich our diverse and inclusive community and what are your hopes for your college experience?
Anya Merkle
Accepted:University of Colorado Boulder, SDSU, University of Miami Florida, Cal Poly SLO, and UCSB.
Attending:UCSB.
The smile on Bernie’s face makes it all worthwhile. A shy, introverted thirteen-year-old girl with Downs Syndrome who lights up at the sight of me tacking up her horse is why I volunteer at Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Therapeutic Riding Program. She has come to rely on me to help her with her riding lesson and to cheer her on every week. Over the period of time that I have been working with her, I have seen improvement in Bernie’s confidence and self-esteem. The riding has helped her balance and strength, while the bond of friendship has improved her social skills. When I first met her, she was scared to even go within five feet of a horse, but now she runs up to them without a moment of hesitation and with a beaming smile spread across her face. At first she didn’t talk, but as she slowly began to trust me she came out of her shell. To see her spirit blossom makes the time I spend with her infinitely gratifying and rewarding.
I have come to know that the relationships developed between the students and volunteers are as important to them as the riding itself. The best way to create a genuine and lasting relationship with the riders is by treating them as the equals they are. My experience with Bernie has taught me that we are not so different as some people would assume. We laugh at the same jokes, have a similar taste in music, and even the same favorite color. At the same time I have realized that I need to be thoughtful in my choice of words and not say things that create separation between us. The mention of attending a midnight premiere of the new Twilight movie would only make her feel her limitations, whereas expressing excitement about wanting to see the movie brings us closer together and makes her feel included. Focusing on the commonalities people share instead of their differences creates a supportive environment where parity is natural.
Before meeting Bernie I didn’t realize that helping a stranger, especially someone so different from myself, could have such a profound impact on my views on life and my desire to help others. To me, diversity is individuality and what makes people unique, not what should be scrutinized and used as an excuse to initiate disunion. My friendship with Bernie has shown me that no matter how different people may look on the outside, we are all equal and should be treated with mutual respect. In my college experience and the rest of my life, I strive to carry forth the ideals represented by Bernie’s smile.
Cameron P.
Accepted: Santa Cruz, Chapman, University of Oregon,University of Colorado, Boulder
Attending: University of Colorado, Boulder
Universities greatly benefit from diverse student populations as well as students who support and encourage their peers. I have first hand experience with being a student at a fairly homogenous high school. It is also a school that could be perceived as less tolerant of outliers. It isn’t such a great experience to feel like an outlier.
I come from a community that focuses much of its attention on athletics. The vast majority of the kids I have met during my life have had a major connection with sports. Like most of my friends, I grew up trying one sport after another until I found my niche; the sport I loved. I ended up being a water polo player. This is decidedly not a mainstream sport at my school.
La Costa Canyon High School is a school nearly completely devoted to sports, most importantly its football team. Sports are so huge at this school that it was recently named San Diego Magazine’s Top High School for sports. County championships are the norm for this school.
Playing a non-mainstream sport at a high school that focuses primarily on its football team, cheerleaders and other more typical sports was initially very daunting. It wasn’t easy spending four years at a school where people criticized what they didn’t understand. It’s clear that teenagers are perfect examples of people who come down hard on things they don’t understand; speedo-wearing athletes being no exception.
However, I’ve felt that putting myself in this situation has caused me to stand up for myself socially. This experience molded me into an individual of great self-sufficiency and independence. The combination of playing a team sport and having an increasingly independent personality has taught me not to rely on others for my validation, but at the same time to be able to work as a cohesive team member. I value both of these lessons.
I feel like being one of the outliers has lead me to value diversity more so than the typical high school football player or cheerleader. I understand what it means to be unique and what people from all different areas of life can bring together in a common atmosphere, such as a university.
When I enter a university, I hope that not only will I be put on the right path to my future career, but that I will also develop lasting relationships with a diverse group of people. I want to meet not just the people who think like I do, but also those who have different opinions than mine. I want to broaden my point of view and my perspective on the world. I want to enter a university with an open mind and exit a more well-rounded, intelligent human being.
Topic of My Choice
Drew Toolson
Attending: BYU Hawaii
Footsteps
Not many kids dream of being an orthodontist when they grow up. Most kids hate going to the orthodontist to get their braces on, or to get them tightened, but I have always been fascinated by this process. My dad is an orthodontist, so I have grown up learning the process of using orthodontic appliances to create beautiful smiles. People often laugh when I tell them that I want to be an orthodontist, but they do not realize how important an orthodontist is in their lives. Yes, braces may have made some people look awkward during their teenage years, but the end result of orthodontic treatment is life changing. A perfect, white smile lights up a person’s face and changes who they are, internally and externally. In some ways, orthodontists are miracle workers because they change lives for the better, which is what I try to do now. I have worked hard to achieve the best grades I can and I have held leadership positions to help others. I try to be an example to everyone and to make each person’s day brighter. As an orthodontist, I will work hard to improve each person’s life with a brighter, beautiful smile.
Name: Scott Baylon
Accepted: BYU, BYU Idaho, San Diego State
Attending: BYU
BYU
Guitars can be tuned with one’s own ears. When the same two notes are struck, the vibrations will signal whether or not the two strings are of one accord. One note remains the same while the other adjusts. Upon agreement, the unsettling tone turns to one of peace.
In order to be in tune with the ordinances of the gospel, one must adjust their habits and hearts to live in harmo
ny. Unlike other schools, athletes are held to the same standards. I was more than impressed with BYU’s decision last spring. They did not adjust their policy for any reason or anyone.
I couldn’t imagine the unhappiness I would feel if I was surrounded by such filth at some of the schools I had considered applying to. BYU is an oasis in a desert of worldly pleasure. I am hopeful that I can further my education in such a place that will prepare myself for a mission, temple marriage, and all aspects of the gospel. I’m prepared and eager to do just as the final button on the application says and “SUBMIT”. With the Lord as my director, my strings are ready to be played.
Tavish Smith
Accepted: MIT,Princeton,NYU, and BYU
Attending: MIT
My favorite book when I was five was How Things are Made. I read it cover to cover countless times, intrigued by the complex creations. When I wasn’t reading, I sat for hours and watched construction machinery, enthralled by the hydraulics and roar of engines. But, my favorite pastime, I’ll admit, was interrogating my father about the places we visited. “But how did they build this? Why did they put that wall there or these stairs here? What makes it work?” I would ask. And every time he had an answer: “Well, they used scaffolding, and that wall there is a supporting wall. Those doors work because they are on hinges.” Despite the fact that he knew that putting a curious word like “hinges” in one of his answers would only elicit more questions from my eager mind, he continuously supported my curiosity.
In addition to my father, who continues supporting my inquisitiveness, my mother’s career as a professional opera singer has given me an advantage in soaking up the marvels of the foreign world. Through my travels abroad with my family I have seen and experienced diversity in the arts and technology, ranging from Gaudi’s fascinating Sagrada Família Cathedral in Barcelona, to mesmerizing sports cars in Milano.
Just when I began to think I would never see something more spectacular, a new country would surprise me with its striking machines and designs. Though now I have begun to surpass my father’s knowledge in certain areas of technology and engineering, my hunger for innovation and the explanations of how the latest technology is made and why it works has yet to be sated, and will not be sated until the day when my father asks me why he should upgrade his computer, and I can tell him that my company’s cutting-edge quantum processor is the best in the world. The day when I can tell him to “just wait” until he sees the one my team and I are designing for next quarter. The day when I don’t need a book to see how things are made because I am the one making them, the one turning groundbreaking ideas into reality.
Alyssa C.
Accepted: MIT, Yale, Columbia, Brown, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, University of California San Diego, University of California Davis
Attending: Harvard
I sit on a low, black bench, shifting and rustling about – settling in. Eighty-eight black and white keys stretch before me, filling the whole of my gaze. I look up to see my face reflected and distorted in the shiny, over-glossed black surface of the piano. I shift my eyes to the white pages in front of me, with their thin, dark, horizontal lines. Notes sit on these lines complacently in a manner that seems incongruous with their fluttering lightness when played. I raise my hands, fingers poised, and I am startled by the profoundness of this moment, knowing that at any instant I can press my fingers down on these keys and produce something from nothing; beauty from emptiness. It is often said that to be able to create music is one of the greatest joys in life. I agree; there is little I have experienced that can compare to the swell of notes forming rolling waves of melody, the current sweeping raw emotions out into the open and transforming them, making beautiful everything along the way. But, to me, this joy is and will always be second to something greater: the glory of that moment before a single note is played, when I sit before the piano, fingers outstretched in anticipation.
There are so many of these moments in life, small and unassuming, but all-consuming at the same time; little pieces of our parents telling us anything is possible, slivers of dreams in which we can do anything. We often look past this moment before, diving right into the action; we marvel at the splendor of a concert, overlooking the startling beauty and harmony of an orchestra tuning; we are so transfixed by the sunrise that we forget about the incredible promise of the dull morning gray. But it is in these instants of anticipation, the moments before, that we unexpectedly glimpse what is possible without the interference of fear or reality. I know that the dreams of these moments do not always come true; many hopeful beginnings end with disappointment and failure. I know also that as I grow up, experience may persuade me to not believe in fairytale endings. But I hope that I retain some of my idealism, if only in these small fragments. I strive to carry a sense of optimism forward with me, holding onto the momentary feelings of radiant innocence that allow me to believe in endless possibilities.
My seventeen years have been spent preparing for now; the melody of the rest of my life is about to begin. I hope that one day I’ll look back on this time and reflect on the anticipation, the brilliance that had yet to emerge. As I sit here writing this, I realize that this is the moment before…and I can’t wait.
Nan H.
Accepted: University of California Santa Barbara, University of California Davis, Loyola Marymount University, University of San Diego
Attending: University of California Berkeley
The Back-Up Laugh
There is nothing funnier than cat calendars. Their marble eyes hung on walls of countless cubicles glare condescendingly at all who ogle as they pass by. There is also nothing funnier than the classic mix-up when you ask a foreigner if they've seen Pirates of the Caribbean and they think you are sincerely asking them if they are a pirate. It never gets old. Unfortunately, such humor is unseen by many and completely under-appreciated; but not by me.
Maybe that is why I have been dubbed the back-up laugh. It is exactly what it sounds like: the person giggling contently while all other heads in the room whip around to see who could have possibly been entertained by such a comment. While this may appear as though I have no discretion or am simply amused by the mundane, I think I have the best sense of humor of all.
Like many psychologists, I am torn over whether I was born with my natural contentment or whether it was cultivated. My deciduous family tree is rooted in the first. Originally sowed with the infamous Grand Ali and her seductive Christmas snake dance and later branching out to Momma Marg and her benign enjoyment in Fridays, our amusement with the commonplace has ripened into the Nan that is accurately accused by yearbook signatures from her teachers that smirk, “You were such a pleasure to work with. You always laughed at my comments especially when they weren't really that humorous.” I suppose one could conclude that laughter pulses in the merry roots of the Farley family.
However, I recently re-explored the butt of my natural high and have concluded that external factors have also been major contributors. Over the past four years, my understanding of my family, once shallow and naïve, has been broadened to show the tragedies and many obstacles that comprise the complicated backgrounds of both my mother and grandmother. With their experiences in mind, I reflect on my own encounters with heartache; the most poignant of which was the hospitalization of my older brother George after he attempted suicide and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Now I know why the Farley women laugh. Essentially a coping technique, our eyes crinkle to counter-act the tears and our lips tighten around our teeth to remember those that time prevents us from kissing. It only comes off as excessive because we always release that small bubble of air before it compresses inward.
I now view my distinguishable giggle as a unique imprint onto my personality. Although the product of my heritage and upbringing, my appreciation for humor seems to run a bit deeper. Laughing like a restrained child in a terribly silent waiting room, I grow louder while dagger eyes
search for the source because, little do they know, I have a reason.
-Noah H.
Accepted to: University of Oregon, Point Loma Nazarene University, AZUSA Pacific University, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of California Fresno
Attending: San Diego State University
It is midnight on a Los Angeles city street, it’s a frosty 50 degrees out and I am in street clothes under the 5 freeway. There are no cars on these back streets, however it feels like there should be. I’m not alone though. Many other teenagers surround me and young adults all here for The Hundreds warehouse sale that will be taking place the next morning. As I look down at the crowd of people, some with their own fires and some fast asleep in personal sleeping arrangements, I think to myself: why am I here? The sale doesn’t start until 10:00 am the next morning and there are at least 200 people sleeping in the street the night before. This truly is insanity. Then I think of the owners of my favorite clothing company, The Hundreds, and I grasp the insanity. I seize the fact that these two law students have created something extraordinary, something that people can wear as a tee shirt that expresses them and shows their emotions and thoughts on life.
And that is when I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
That one event spurred me to put my dream into reality and partner up with a good buddy of mine and create our own insanity. And we did. FTS, Free Thinkers Society. We are just a small little clothing company that captures the aspects of local life and California customs. We design tee shirts, sweatshirts, fitted hats, tank tops, you name it, and we want the whole world to take part in our little mission. And there is only room to keep expanding, to keep up with my dream, and to make an impact in this world. And I know that I can achieve this dream by studying at the Lundquist College of Business.
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