It's spring break at my school, and that means most of the campus has gone off to fresh, exciting things. I, however, do not have a home elsewhere, so of course that means I get to stay on campus with a limited group. But I couldn't stay in my room, with my things. No, I am required to stay in the house next door. I was required to gather everything I wanted for the next week and lug it over here. Moreover, I'm staying in a house with about ten other girls, and they're all exceedingly loud at all hours of the night. But the thing that most gets me, is I have a roommate.

You see, I'm the kind of person who does not play well with others, especially if I feel like they are invading my personal space. I'm an introvert at heart, and I really need time when I'm not around *anyone* else. Besides, it makes webcam sex impossble.

So my roommate is one of those Chinese students, whose English isn't very good, who wants to be a math major. (Where have I seen this story before?) I've made the effort to get to know her, so that I can destroy her because that's the natural thing to do when you're stuck in a room with someone for five days.

- She has body image issues. She walked to Walmart (2 miles one way) in almost 80 degree weather - even though I offered to drive her - because she "needs to lose weight."
- She feels incompetent in class. She has studied until 2 AM every night since we got here... and we're on spring break. She works really hard, and when she still doesn't succeed, she feels like a "failure".
- She's embarrassed to speak English, in case she makes a mistake. She has been taught that any weakness should be hidden as much as possible.

Pure and simple, all these feelings of inadequacy and guilt trace right back to her Chinese upbringing. In China, she says, there is so much pressure to study every moment of the day. At the heart of things, she really just wants to watch anime and listen to Japanese music (actually she really wants to go live in Japan one day). She hates school, and really just wants to have a moderate job, on which she could live.

People often praise the Chinese cultural values: respect towards elders, work ethic, and emphasis on education. But these values are exactly what has made my Chinese roommate miserable. What's the point, of having a society which is the most technologically advanced in the world, if you're going to ruin the lives of hundreds or thouands of young people?

I prefer a culture in which every individual can pave his own path. I would like to see a culture in which if you don't want to go to college, that's okay. I want to live in a culture which recognizes that not everyone has the same abilities or desires, and embraces our differences.

What do you think of your own culture's values?

Humor me for a moment. What if you said "race doesn't exist," and someone replied:

"There's 3 races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Negroid (in alphabetical order).... that's in science books?"

What if this person then failed to cite his sources, even upon demand, and claimed that this was "basic and common knowledge?"

Is it common knowledge that there are three races: "Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Negroid"? (In what science books could I find this information?)

After nearly $1,000,000,000,000.00 of handouts, a featured post asking for even more, and general sentiments of entitlement, I've decided that it's now my turn.

I'm the college student who hasn't yet seen her $5,000. I'm the friend of military men and women serving overseas, whose lives are being endangered for no good reason. I'm the woman who could, even in 2009, be prosecuted for giving her boyfriend a blowjob ("sodomy" is still illegal in many Southern states). I'm the person who avoids going to the doctor, even though she has double health insurance, because the system is so fucked up. I am the person that everyone from senators to presidents have promised the world.

I have sat meekly, ignoring political topics for several months, listening to everyone else's laundry list of bailouts and privileges and laws. But now, it's time for me, too, to cash in on my inner lobbyist. It's my turn, for my handout.

So, Mr. President Barack Obama, I have enclosed a list of things that you owe me, which should be given to me immediately at the expense of everyone else:

...

If you all want the economy to stop flushing itself down the toilet, then there's one simple thing you can do. Just stop asking for everything you think you deserve, and earn your own damn "free" lunch.

At this point, it's rather irrelevant, because I'm already in college. I did have the opportunity to experience both homeschooling and public schooling, and here's my take:

I would prefer to be homeschooled until high school. Why? Well, quite simply, elementary and middle school teachers function as ltitle more than baby sitters. I was severely held back by the intellectual limitations of my teachers and my peers when I was in lower levels of education; I could have already been taking AP classes by the time I was twelve, if anyone had let me. Moreover, the rigid structure of schooling is too much for most youngsters: I would have much preferred to just finish all my work by 2 PM and then have the rest of the day completely free.

For high school, I think it would be preferable to enter either a very good public school (with an IB program, if possible) or attend private school. I think it is important to get some sort of institutionalized socialization before attending university. Half of school is learning how to deal with teachers and the other people around you, and I feel like this lesson should be learned in high school. Plus, it's a lot easier for university admissions departments to evaluate a student who attends a certified secondary school, who has grades and recommendations from instructors.
   

I just answered this Featured Question; you can answer it too!

Sometimes, it sucks to be young, white, and of comfortable means in this country. I still have to deal with racism and prejudice against me, but I also don't qualify for any of the special programs or preferential treatment that certain others enjoy. Let me tell you how much fun it is, to be denied a job that no one else can do, because your parents make too much money (as though they share that with me! ha!)

But what really gets me, is that I'm currently applying to summer internships/REUs in math and neuroscience. When I was looking for the right programs, I saw so many times, "Underrepresented minorities in the sciences are strongly encouraged to apply."

I am unique in that I see both sides of this preference. As a woman, I am preferred over men for math internships; as a "white" student, I am passed over for science internships. Honestly, I don't want EITHER ONE to happen. If I take away the spot of a more qualified male in a math internship, I view that as a travesty of justice. If he earned the spot, I don't care what his genitals look like - he earned it!

But what really gets me, is the programs which are specifically designed for "economically disadvantaged students from all racial/ethnic backgrounds." The whole reason they have these programs, is because students who grew up poor are much less likely to succeed in academia, for whatever reason. And yet, because of my *current* means, I am ineligible.

Let me share something with you, Program for Economically Disadvantaged Students in the Biological Sciences. I grew up starving. We lived off of foodstamps, but my abusive mother often would forgo food shopping altogether. By all statistical rights, I should be popping out my third kid around now, have 6 meaningless tattoos, be a pack-a-day smoker, and be the victim of domestic abuse.

But I'm not. And I, like many of your other applicants, pulled myself out of that, and still struggle with the implications daily.

However, I, unlike many of your other applicants, now have access to a moderate sum of money. So that automatically disqualifies me, because I *must* have had a picture perfect life? That automatically means that five years of having money make up for 12 of hunger and misery? I guess I'm just not poor enough. Excuse me.