Undergraduate / America had blacs with a few white people; Brown Common App [4]

Is it too much ? Thank You

As a child, I was sure of three things: my parents loved me, my sister and I threw the best Barbie Doll weddings, and America was black. Just as China had Chinese people, and Canada had Canadians, America had blacks with a couple of whites. I could not have been anymore incorrect.

I knew this because I grew up in Prince Georges County, Maryland, a predominately black suburb in the nation's capital. A place where the diversity in my elementary girl comprised one white girl, where those who were not black still had a deep understanding of the race, and where black history month is every month. There have been times when I have questioned the presence of a white person walking in my neighborhood. "What could you possibly be doing here?" While living here has allowed me to have an intimate understanding of the complexities of black Americans and given me a comfort in being a black woman, it has also disillusioned me to the color of the world.

My mother always told me the world was not black; that Prince Georges County was abnormal. And I understood what she told me intellectually, but I did not quite understand emotionally. This emotional understanding came later in my life.

Walking with the quickstep I use solely for food, I paced towards Chipotle looking forward to the chicken burrito that would soon be in my hands. My family and I were stopping for lunch in Arizona as we traveled back from visiting family. As I entered the restaurant and stood in line, I noticed that I was the only black person in the building. Scanning the room, I saw a little girl staring blankly at me as if I did not belong in the line. I had become the lone white person walking in my neighborhood streets in Prince Georges County. There standing in line, completing an everyday, basic action, I suddenly felt uncomfortable and awkward with myself. I realized that the world was not black and I was the minority.

Over the years, I have become okay with this realization. I even find it exhilarating. The world not being black only means there is more opportunities for exploration; more people to meet, more cultures to learn about, more food to eat. All this and more, waiting for me to discover.

Undergraduate / Growing up Black and Majoring in Unafraid Barnard Application [3]

It is a little rough any feedback is welcome and I sincerely appreciate your help!

C. Alumna and writer Anna Quindlen says that she "majored in unafraid" at Barnard. Tell us about a time when you majored in unafraid.

Deathly afraid of bugs I have always been. So I was apprehensive when I signed up to be a counselor in training at a camp in a bug filled forest. However, throughout the summer, I slowly conquered my fears. Whenever I saw a bug, I breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. This all came to a head when there was a poisonous black widow spider in the latrine with me. There I was squatting over the toilet, while the black widow seemed to be staring through my bug-fearing soul from the corner. Despite every nerve in my body telling me to run out screaming, I inhaled and exhaled, finished my business, and calmly exited the latrine. That summer I faced fear and majored in the unafraid. This was a big pay off two because two summers later I was able to have a great time working in another bug filled forest as a conservation worker.

. Community - educational, geographic, religious, political, ethnic, or other - can define an individual's experience and influence her journey. How has your community, as you identify it, shaped your perspective?

"The New Black Suburbs" was an article in The New York Times that shaped my life. The article discussed my home Prince George's county and its emergence as the "new black suburb. My parents read this article and it influenced their decision to make P.G County our home. Growing up in this area has allowed me to have an intimate understanding of the complexities of the black americans, and allowed me to fully grasp that there is no way to act black but rather how an individual understands their racial status is up ot that individual. I think that as my parents hoped living in this county has given me a comfort in being a black women, but it has limited my exposure to people from other racial backgrounds and cultures. Therefore if admitted to Barnard I will bring the perspective of a women who is comfortable in her own skin but strongly desires to explore other cultures and ways of living.

Undergraduate / Barnard; Why applying and Conversation With famous Women? [4]

So first thanks so much for looking at this I truly appreciate your help. I think that the first one needs to be shorter and I need suggestions on how to synthesize it and should I provide more detail about Barnard or are my reasons adequate. The second one my mother says it has too many cliches and I also need to whether I should work more information about myself into it or if I should work more information about the women in history into it. Again thank you so much for your help.

How did you first learn about Barnard College and what factors have influenced your decision to apply? Why do you think the College would be a good match for you?

Several members of my family have attended or taught at women's colleges. My maternal grandmother taught biology at Spelman College. My mother and her three sisters are Smith College Alumnae, and my sister is currently a sophomore at Wellesley College. Therefore, I have come of age in a family that exposed me to women's college including Barnard and also educated me on the benefits of attending them. My mother and her sisters are accomplished, compassionate, and witty women. Since becoming a Wellesley woman, my sister has become much more confident and self aware. Barnard would be great for me because it would give me an opportunity to flourish in an empowering environment that women's colleges offer their students, while still allowing me to chart my own course. In addition, at Barnard, I would expect not only to gain lasting friendships and confidence but also opportunities and experiences that are only possible in New York City.

B. Pick one woman in history or fiction to converse with for an hour and explain your choice. What would you talk about?

Juliette Gordon Low or J Glow as I like to call her, is the founder Girl Scouts in the United States and she is my hero. I have been a Girl Scouts since I was four and attended hundreds of meetings which helped form the women I am today. I would begin by very happily tell J Glow of all the wonderful things Girl Scouts have done since she founded them 101 years ago. Then I would thank J Glow for you giving me and so many other women an organization that taught us to make our own definition of beauty, reminded us that we have to duty to serve others, and most importantly showed us that the bonds of sisterhood are unbreakable.