I tried to do a general experience-is it clear or do I need to narrow it down?
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
Race is only skin deep, I whisper to myself as I walk into a room filled with Asians, Indians, and Caucasians. I am the only black female and I silently think to myself-I am the odd one out. I cannot possibly blend in and I quickly want to seek refuge somewhere I cannot be seen. However if I turn back, I know that I will lose my opportunity to become more knowledgeable about my research project. After all, I was the first student from Malverne High School to ever be accepted into the 2009 Simons Summer Research Program. I expected criticism. I anticipated being looked upon as dumb and illiterate. Yet to my surprise, I was given respect, acceptance and recognition, all of which I received wholeheartedly in spite of my race.
So as I entered the room, I took a deep breath in, put on my mask, and proceeded to try to assimilate to the crowd. I vowed to myself that I would be a chameleon; I would speak properly at all times intertwining bombastic terms in my sentences without the slightest hint of colloquialisms. Soon my thoughts were interrupted by a student who introduced himself as Eddie. When I told him that my name was Akua (Ghanaian for girl born on a Wednesday), he asked me if I was Ghanaian. When he saw the surprised look on my face, he explained that he visited Ghana last summer and fell in love with the people and their culture. I was intrigued by the fact that a seventeen year old teenager of European decent was so connected to Ghanaian customs. To know that he revered a land that so many viewed as primitive provided me with new insights on how people are becoming more culturally accepting of others.
When it came time to meet my roommate, I inhaled deeply and unlocked the door only to see a smiling Asian girl who did not hesitate to greet me. "You must be Akua," she said. "I'm Michelle." As we talked more, I learned that she was born in Korea. I also learned that she spoke Korean fluently. I looked forward to listening to her say, "Yobosayo" each time her phone rang. I loved the way she accentuated it so much that I finally just had to say it, "Yobosayo Michelle" I said to her one morning and she smiled, amused that I told her hello in her native language. When I went to sleep that night, I realized that the people that I met were ordinary teenagers who were not looking at me any differently than they would another person.
The next morning I met my mentor who reviewed the basics of my project for me. Throughout the weeks I had a very tough time understanding the new material. I was working with fruit flies for the first time and made a few too many mistakes in the lab. Surely my professor my mentor would think that I was not intelligent enough to be in his lab, I thought. It turns out I had been wrong. He met with me and told me that he had never met a high school student who could write a scientific layout as well as I did especially with limited knowledge on the topic. I could not believe that he had observed this about me. I realized that he never once thought that I was dumb.
My experience as the only African -American individual in a program has shown me that race really is only skin deep. I realized that I allowed myself to anticipate what others would think of me without giving them the benefit of the doubt. I will no longer let race cloud my judgment. I will no longer be a chameleon. I will be myself.
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
Race is only skin deep, I whisper to myself as I walk into a room filled with Asians, Indians, and Caucasians. I am the only black female and I silently think to myself-I am the odd one out. I cannot possibly blend in and I quickly want to seek refuge somewhere I cannot be seen. However if I turn back, I know that I will lose my opportunity to become more knowledgeable about my research project. After all, I was the first student from Malverne High School to ever be accepted into the 2009 Simons Summer Research Program. I expected criticism. I anticipated being looked upon as dumb and illiterate. Yet to my surprise, I was given respect, acceptance and recognition, all of which I received wholeheartedly in spite of my race.
So as I entered the room, I took a deep breath in, put on my mask, and proceeded to try to assimilate to the crowd. I vowed to myself that I would be a chameleon; I would speak properly at all times intertwining bombastic terms in my sentences without the slightest hint of colloquialisms. Soon my thoughts were interrupted by a student who introduced himself as Eddie. When I told him that my name was Akua (Ghanaian for girl born on a Wednesday), he asked me if I was Ghanaian. When he saw the surprised look on my face, he explained that he visited Ghana last summer and fell in love with the people and their culture. I was intrigued by the fact that a seventeen year old teenager of European decent was so connected to Ghanaian customs. To know that he revered a land that so many viewed as primitive provided me with new insights on how people are becoming more culturally accepting of others.
When it came time to meet my roommate, I inhaled deeply and unlocked the door only to see a smiling Asian girl who did not hesitate to greet me. "You must be Akua," she said. "I'm Michelle." As we talked more, I learned that she was born in Korea. I also learned that she spoke Korean fluently. I looked forward to listening to her say, "Yobosayo" each time her phone rang. I loved the way she accentuated it so much that I finally just had to say it, "Yobosayo Michelle" I said to her one morning and she smiled, amused that I told her hello in her native language. When I went to sleep that night, I realized that the people that I met were ordinary teenagers who were not looking at me any differently than they would another person.
The next morning I met my mentor who reviewed the basics of my project for me. Throughout the weeks I had a very tough time understanding the new material. I was working with fruit flies for the first time and made a few too many mistakes in the lab. Surely my professor my mentor would think that I was not intelligent enough to be in his lab, I thought. It turns out I had been wrong. He met with me and told me that he had never met a high school student who could write a scientific layout as well as I did especially with limited knowledge on the topic. I could not believe that he had observed this about me. I realized that he never once thought that I was dumb.
My experience as the only African -American individual in a program has shown me that race really is only skin deep. I realized that I allowed myself to anticipate what others would think of me without giving them the benefit of the doubt. I will no longer let race cloud my judgment. I will no longer be a chameleon. I will be myself.