“You are so ugly and disgusting Connie,” nine year old me yelled. After having just come back from an embarrassing incident at Sam’s Club where my older sister had flung off her pants stating she had her period, I had run to my room with my hands brushing away tears of anger and shame. I didn’t realize that the reason she had acted unusual was because of an extra chromosome, having assumed she chose to have Down Syndrome....

Applause rumbles through the stage as my heart calms from the adrenaline of performing. Before high school I didn’t think I could dance, having thought only people who started young could be good dancers. However, through my friends’ encouragement, I auditioned and made my school’s dance company. The opportunities my high school had to offer helped me to discover a talent I never knew I had. With amazing academics and a supportive student population, I know Northwestern would...