Why Brown? Anonymous

After four laps around the Ratty searching for my lunch, I decide to skip the lines and go for the salad bar. I can’t help but notice the student across from me as he empties nearly all the cucumbers onto his plate, even as he is engrossed in conversation with a friend. The two analyze the effects of villains on the development of empathy in children. They continue sparring on effective literary devices in fairy tales until the subject changes to an approaching economics midterm they seem nervous about.

This 30-second snippet of a conversation I overheard while visiting Brown defines what I hope to gain from my college experience. I want to be surrounded by people who are curious, who embrace their diverse opinions and academic interests. In a community that encourages students to explore, I’d have the opportunity evaluate my fundamental beliefs about identity in PHIL 1660 Metaphysics, build my poetry writing skills in organizations such as WORD!, and still have room for a passion I have yet to even discover. All this, while still developing into the environmental scientist I aspire to be.

Brown University is limitless in its opportunities for academic engagement both in and beyond the classroom. Nothing about this school is...