DylanH
Oct 19, 2009
Undergraduate / "Diversity makes us a better university for learning, for teaching, and for conducting research." [5]
Here's my second try. I'm having a hard time answering both parts of the prompt sufficiently in so little words... This response is exactly 250 words.
Answer:
I have lived in numerous areas from the Southwest to the Midwest United States. As a politically-minded individual, I could not help but notice and experience the varying political climates of the neighborhoods, cities, and states that I lived in.
My move to Toledo, Ohio brought me from the town of Peoria, Arizona, a town of devout Mormons, mostly Republicans with conservative social values, mostly well-off, to a relatively liberal working-class city. There, in my government class, I frequently spoke with a self-described conservative classmate. He provided insight of what it was like to be a conservative living in a liberal area.
Once, he commented that he gave up on arguing his views, because liberals thought him as an uneducated right-winger. I think I will remember this classmate for a long time, because he made me realize how much we lose by not listening to contrary opinions. He was a smart kid, but he didn't feel that way, so he chose to stop voicing his opinion, which is antithetical to the democratic process and a huge loss for our over-polarized generation.
I believe that a new form of politics needs to be created, one where we can still disagree, but nobody will feel ostracized from their community for their political ideology. As a student studying politics, the diversity of the regions I have lived in would help at eventually achieving this goal. At the University of Michigan, my contribution would be an mind open to views other than my own.
Here's my second try. I'm having a hard time answering both parts of the prompt sufficiently in so little words... This response is exactly 250 words.
Answer:
I have lived in numerous areas from the Southwest to the Midwest United States. As a politically-minded individual, I could not help but notice and experience the varying political climates of the neighborhoods, cities, and states that I lived in.
My move to Toledo, Ohio brought me from the town of Peoria, Arizona, a town of devout Mormons, mostly Republicans with conservative social values, mostly well-off, to a relatively liberal working-class city. There, in my government class, I frequently spoke with a self-described conservative classmate. He provided insight of what it was like to be a conservative living in a liberal area.
Once, he commented that he gave up on arguing his views, because liberals thought him as an uneducated right-winger. I think I will remember this classmate for a long time, because he made me realize how much we lose by not listening to contrary opinions. He was a smart kid, but he didn't feel that way, so he chose to stop voicing his opinion, which is antithetical to the democratic process and a huge loss for our over-polarized generation.
I believe that a new form of politics needs to be created, one where we can still disagree, but nobody will feel ostracized from their community for their political ideology. As a student studying politics, the diversity of the regions I have lived in would help at eventually achieving this goal. At the University of Michigan, my contribution would be an mind open to views other than my own.
