The Norm Analysis

Occasionally, when I’m with my friends, I am not seen as a person with thoughts and feelings as complex as their own, but a novelty. Like other people, I speak and laugh and make jokes. Often the words I say and the actions I take are done in the name of humor or wit, but sometimes, I inquire. I ask questions like “how can we see the color yellow?” and “why is it a firefighter’s responsibility to save a cat from a tree when the tree is not on fire?” and “how am I alive when the atoms that make me are not?” and maybe these are stupid questions. Maybe they sound as if I am trying to make yet another joke, as I tend to do. Maybe they are ridiculous and foolish, but I don’t care if they are. They are things that I genuinely want to know, to understand, …show more content…
There is nothing “cute” about asking odd questions and wanting thoughtful answers. For once, I want to ask a question - and yes, it might be ridiculous - and have someone answer, spark a conversation on a topic that most people don’t even bother to think about. Seeing the essay prompts that UChicago views as the norm was like coming home. A feeling of belonging and realization that there was somewhere where I was not a novelty, but a belonger. University of Chicago asks ridiculous questions. They ask questions like “where is Waldo, really?” and “how do you feel about Wednesdays?” Ridiculous - and amazing, and exactly the type of questions that I love to ask and rarely get to answer because no one thinks to ask me. When I ask my friends the questions that so frequently run through my head, I get only vacant looks and the occasional vague, noncommittal …show more content…
I want to ask about the color system we use and get legitimate answers - not smiles or laughs or jokes. I want to ask about the nature of life and the universe and get an appropriately personal, philosophical, or thoughtful answer. There are times that I feel like a puzzle piece that works where it is, but perhaps a corner is slightly off, or maybe the color is just a shade brighter than it should be. It works, but it’s not right. The more I learn about UChicago, the more I realize how well I would fit there. Everything I’ve heard excites me like nothing has before. From the recruitment material which was wonderfully quirky to housing system which I learned about literally a day after saying “the more like Hogwarts my school is, the happier I’ll be.” From the core curriculum with its required art class to the marvelous research opportunities and connection. From the No Boundaries program to the beauty of the