Undergraduate / Challenges of a turban / Tomato Head - background, talent essay [4]

Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

As I reach into a bin of balls to find one to play with, another kid kicks the ball out of my hand and yells, "What are you doing with that ball, Tomato Head?" It takes me a second to realize that he is referring to my turban.

Unfortunately, that became the first of many incidents where I have had to deal with discrimination because of my different looks. I am Sikh, and I wear a turban to cover my shoulder length, unshorn hair. I see wearing a turban as a way of preserving my identity, and it also reminds me of who I am and how I should be conducting myself, both in public and in private.

My turban is a constant reminder that I am different. Sometimes it is a negative reminder, such as when other kids treat me unkindly or choose to disregard me. I have been through very tragic times, like when people were very callous to me, and referred to me as "terrorist" because I looked foreign-or maybe scary-to them.

When I walk into a room and see people looking at me differently, I want to say to them, "There's no reason to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I am going to help you with your homework, or save you a seat on the bus, or hold the door open for you, or stand up for you if someone else is bothering you."

Wearing a turban is also a very positive reminder of my differences. Being different forces me to confront who I really am and make decisions about who I want to be. Every morning when I spend ten minutes tying my turban, I am reminded about who I am and what I stand for. It is a reminder of all the values that my family and my faith have taught me, and about how I am supposed to live my life day to day - in remembrance of God, in pursuit of education, and in service to others. My turban and my religion are the reasons that I spend an hour meditating every day. They are the reasons I always say "Hi" to kids that might be feeling left out. They are the reasons I studied martial arts, so I would be able to defend myself and others who need help. They are the reasons I was able to stop bullies from stealing a kid's lunch money from him last year. Now whenever he sees me in the hallway, he refers to me and my turban as his saviors.

I am always extremely careful to conduct myself properly, because I know that whatever I do, people will associate it with the turban, which will affect every other Sikh person they meet in the future. Although other kids might drink or smoke or cheat or bully others, I will never do those things, because I know it will not only reflect on me and my family, but also on my entire religion. I do my best to go out of my way to be kind and helpful to others, because that is the image I want people to have in their minds when they think about people with turbans.

There are some Sikhs who have been recognized for their great accomplishments in this country. The CEO of MasterCard, Ajaypal Singh Banga, is a Sikh who wears a turban. So was the person who introduced fiber optics in this country. And recently, a Sikh man who wears a turban, Waris Ahluwalia, became a Gap model. My hope is that I will have a positive impact on people, both publically and privately, and maybe even have enough of an impact to prevent another little boy on a playground somewhere from having a ball kicked out of his hand.