A large blue storage bin still sits on the top shelf of a closet in my house. An outsider wouldn’t give much thought to it - they probably wouldn’t ever see it at all. But if you stood on your tippy toes and reached to the top shelf, took down the bin and blew off the decade of dust, you’d find the remnants of a world that exists only in the very limits of my imagination. Indeed,...

They say that, if you can see a tsunami wave on the horizon, you are too close to escape it. As a seventh grader, I saw my mom wear mismatched shoes to work. At the time, I didn’t realize that that was the tsunami on the horizon. My mother was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia in 2013. It was a wave siphoning all of my familiar waters. And I, on the brink of adolescence, was helpless: helpless to stop it, helpless...

When I flick through the tattered yellow pages of a centuries-old newspaper, or I tag and record an artifact, or I listen to the stories of WWII vets for hours, I feel it. Somewhere, someone is calling for me to uncover their life, their memories. Though many people ask, I’ve never intended to be a teacher with my degree. Active research is my calling; I strive to solve the constant puzzle of humanity's foundations. It's my passion to bring...

I wish I could add "reading every single page of the Brown website" to my extracurricular activities. I've spent plenty of hours doing it. I'm addicted to the freedom and passion of Brown. I spent my high school alongside overworked teachers and sleeping students. The disinterest isn't their fault. How can you truly feel committed to school when your curriculum has been force-fed to you for 12 years? Instead, I crave a place where I'm in charge of my own academic...

Not many people associate winter with oranges and fantastic weather. But, teetering on the edge of tropical rainforest and redneck farmland, is Palmetto, FL, where January is orange-picking season and the temperature rarely dips below 50. It's not an incredibly unique town, though. I am probably the most liberal person of the entire population. In some ways, it's a clone of every other little town, but in others, I've had conversations outside McDonald's and experiences at the movie theatre that could...

There is an elusive community of people obsessed with showtunes and tap-dancing, with members worldwide. This group was responsible for Hamilton, Grease, and many other influences of popular culture. You can sometimes spot them watching musicals or belting "Defying Gravity" in their bedrooms. This is the "Theatre Community," (occasionally known as "Glee Haters"). They are my people. I've spent much time among them (often in costume). Wherever I go, I also know I'll never leave them. Unconditional acceptance and kindness...

“Turn! Turn! Out, in, jump, step! Step, kick, kick, LEAP, kick, TOUCH, turn, turn, touch, down, back, step, PIVOT STEP! Walk, walk, walk...” Dancing A Chorus Line can be a nightmare. These words were screamed at me every day...and I wasn't even in the full show. In 10th grade, I was put in the Advanced Tap/Jazz class at school. I’d never considered myself a top-tier dancer, and I was scared out of my mind about being with...

You might gather from the rest of my application that I came out of the womb as an intense lover of history, and that it has been my only interest since then. This is only partly true. Though I’ve always enjoyed history, the first passion I discovered was actually musical theatre. To me, there is something magical about performing on stage. It is a vulnerable moment, desperately trying to impress the hundreds of shadowy figures in the audience watching...

One of my best friends, Josh Roberson, has made an impact on me since the day we met. We both enjoy life and have big ideas and love theater. We also both live with single parents; his are divorced and mine widowed. I think the theme of our relationship is to enjoy life and infect others with humor and encouragement. This has manifested itself into our semi-official private firm, Zimmermann and Roberson Unincorporated. We specialize in cheering up our friends...

Something that has been a goal of mine is to always try to remind others to appreciate the life that they have. It's become a driving factor in my interactions with other. The wonders of the world are endlessly fascinating, and making the most of them is something that I try to do every day. I love meeting people and learning something new from someone every day. With everyone that I meet, I always hope that, in some way, I...

It's a late night study session, or rehearsal, or anything. Then, as teenagers often do, someone complains that they're hungry. I rummage through my bag. "Don't worry, I got you. Have some Craisins," I say, as I pull out a 24 oz. bag of the sweetened dried cranberries. This exact situation has happened more times than I can count, to the extent where I am affectionately known as the Craisin Aficionado among my friends. I will eat Craisins at any time...

Directors and theatre teachers throughout my years of performing have always given me one note for moving about the stage: Walk with purpose. After all, when a powerful scene finishes, simply moseying offstage tends to detract from the show’s momentum. Walk with purpose. I try to apply this note to real life, too. I strive to find a purpose so important that it’s obvious from my mere step. What that purpose might be for the next four years,...

When I flick through the tattered yellow pages of a centuries-old newspaper, or I tag and record an artifact, or I listen to the stories of WWII vets for hours, I feel it. Somewhere, someone is calling for me to uncover their life, their memories. Though many people ask, I’ve never intended to be a teacher with my degree. Active research is my calling; I strive to solve the constant puzzle of humanity's foundations. It's my passion to bring...

The first passion I discovered within myself was my undying love for musical theatre. In 2nd grade, I waltzed onto the stage of my elementary school's talent show and belted out a song from High School Musical as well as my little lungs could. And I haven't stopped since. To me, there is something magical about performing on stage. It is a vulnerable moment, desperately trying to impress the hundreds of shadowy figures in the audience watching you, judging your...