Thunderstorms and Lighting

Coming to The University of Texas was a pretty big culture shock. The diversity at Fort Worth Country Day School was a joke. The student population was not an accurate sample of the population of Fort Worth. In my grade of 92, we had an Indian girl, a Pakistani girl, a Taiwanese girl, two African Americans, and one Hispanic. My friend Curlee, an African American, was only the second Black original (meaning that he completed all thirteen years at Country Day). The first, a kid named Chason Crosby, graduated only two years before our grade did. I find it pretty ridiculous that the school, founded in 1968, took so long to graduate its first Black original. Even now, the diversity level is laughable. The school has numerous organizations and boards dedicating to increasing diversity. However, since there are so few students in the high school, the student organizations do not have much power. Culture Club is the only legitimate one, and they mainly spend their time and resources increasing cultural awareness.

See the change in diversity from high school to college?

My experiences at UT have seemed like a kick in the pants. All around me are people different than I. But to “become the person we are,” we must “look for the experiences and changes, the turning points, triumphs and crashes, dark nights and mountain peaks” (294). So it’s definitely a good thing I am surrounded by different people. We learn the most from people who make us think outside of the box and outside of our comfort zone. The summer I spent at NYU, I learned more about myself than ever before. That is, until this year. This year has thrown me far outside of my comfort circle, and it has thrown numerous trials and tribulations my way. I’ve had to conquer each obstacle, but some issues are more persistent than others. At the same time, I’ve found refuge in people and entities I never would have considered outside of UT. Through the Undergraduate Business Council, I have made friends with people of all races, cultures, and religions. Several of these people, and others like Chetna, have been great people for me to talk to this year. “We have all known thunderstorms and lightning, sunshine and rainbows, earthquakes of doubt or illness, and made ascents to peaks of understanding and accomplishment” (295). This has certainly been a year of self-discovery, but it would not be possible without the various, and diverse, people that I have met down here in Austin.