When I was ten years old, my father was indicted for misappropriation of state funds after serving as state treasurer. My two little sisters, both too young to understand what our dad was wrongly accused of by a partisan prosecutor, would plead with him at night, “Daddy, we don’t want you to go to jail.” The emotional and financial stress it put on our family was a type of pressure I had never felt before, and a feeling I...

During most of my grandmother’s lifetime, she has attempted to conceal the part of herself that is Native American. Her Okie accent still slips when she says words like “tired” or “towel.” I see her cheeks flood with embarrassment after hearing herself speak. Whenever I try to talk with her about our ancestry, she becomes uncomfortable because of the decades she spent escaping the life she left behind in Oklahoma. After years of inquiries without sufficient answers, I decided...

Burning Man: A place of art, shocking culture, and radical self-expression—the last place that a conservative family, such as my own, would go to on a “family vacation.” When my dad, who’s as straight-laced as they come, announced we were going to a festival for Nevada tourism business purposes that was notorious for sexual promiscuity and drug abuse, I was completely shocked… and stoked. We arrived at the front gates of Black Rock City, and individuals dressed in...

Dear Future Roommate, An expedited way to get to know me is through my eclectic closet. Open it, and you will discover: Coffee pajama shorts — I’m a rather friendly person, unless I haven’t had my morning coffee... So expect a Keurig in our room that will be frequently used; Grey sweat pants (a.k.a. the comfiest piece of clothing ever) —There will be many late nights of binge-watching House of Cards in these beauties, that is, of...

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I chose Harvard not only for the incredible academics but for the extracurriculars. I am an Air Force ROTC cadet at the best Air Force Detachment in...