PERSONAL STATEMENT

At five years old, with lopsided pigtails and a pink backpack three times larger than my entire body, I clung to my flimsy yellow library card and gazed in awe at my glass castle which towered before me: the Coral Gables Public Library. I marched confidently into my second home which offered me the entire world on the tattered pages of library books. With my bike anchored on the rack outside,  I smiled eagerly at the familiar librarians who always guided me to the best sections. With no particular plan, I scoured the shelves, contemplating exactly which adventure I would plunge into next. 

One of my first adventures followed Barbie Fairytopia to the underwater kingdom of Oceana. As I pedaled home I pondered: could fairies really fly underwater? Will good always triumph over evil? Barbie gave birth to my unfettered curiosity. Her famous slogan, “You Can Be Anything” resonated with me as I saw my favorite toy and role model balance careers as an astronaut, scientist, fashion model, and president of the United States simultaneously, demonstrating that women have choices and it was possible to juggle multiple hobbies, passions, and dreams.  

At the age of four I took Barbie’s slogan a tad too literally. When grownups smiled down at me and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered confidently, “mermaid!”  When my mother broke the news to me that mermaids were not real, therefore I could not pursue that as a career choice, I quickly moved on to my next option: I would be a fairy. I could tear through the pages and discover new and magical worlds, each page filled with a new tale, expedition, and often, words I could not understand just yet.

When asked again at six what I wanted to be when I grew up, I responded that I was going to deliver babies. Later, my parents explained that delivering babies involved more than dropping them off at their house after they were born. Undeterred, I did not let this distressing news slow me down. The library offered me endless possibilities and allowed me to escape into different realms everyday. Each unknown corner fueled a burning curiosity within: Would I survive Hurricane Katrina, graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sail the restless seas with Odysseus or fight alongside Napoleon? Inevitably, I chose all of the above. 

Tearing through the books, I read about every profession that Barbie dared to explore. At thirteen, and many Maria Tallchief biographies later, I was determined to become a professional ballerina. Attending a competitive dance academy, I pursued this relentlessly. This dream abruptly ended when my father experienced a life-changing accident that forced my dance career to end. In the face of adversity, I turned to characters like Barbie, Katnis Everdeen, Elizabeth Bennet and Anne Shirley to soften my grief. 

At fifteen, I decided to become an ice cream entrepreneur. I launched my own ice cream business and, when in doubt, returned to the library to research entrepreneurship skills or discover new recipes and techniques. Now, at seventeen, my curiosity, ambition, and entrepreneurial success are more fueled than ever; I’ve gained perspective that would not have been possible without the voices and lessons behind each page. 

Barbie’s newest ad campaign begins with the slogan, “What happens when girls are free to imagine they can be anything.” This inspires me to live every moment, good or bad, to the fullest. Exploratory excitability coursing through my veins, I challenge myself to not just seek the “whats'' and “hows”, but to unveil the “whys.” My intense curiosity compels me to step beyond the bounds of analytical thought and words on the page, to subsist on discovery; this is what defines me.