- When I wrote my college-admissions essay, I took a risk and wrote: "I want to be like Barbie."
- I always liked how Barbie could be anyone, but I worried colleges wouldn't take me seriously.
"I want to be like Barbie."
In 2021, before Barbie mania existed, I chose that controversial six-word phrase to open the most important essay of my life: the one for my college application.
In the fall of my senior year, I sat at my computer reading the acceptance rates of my dream film schools: 7%, 5%, and 2%. How was I, another Hollywood wannabe in Southern California, going to stand out?
As the application deadline loomed, I spent week after week ignoring the inevitable. Instead, I poured myself into other work, disregarding the essay questions that would change the trajectory of my life: Who are you? What do you want? Why should we choose you?
"I'm a 17-year-old who wants to be done with college applications," I told myself. "Maybe I could just submit that, and the admissions counsel would respect my honesty and risk."
I thought about what I liked; I liked film. I liked it a lot, but throughout my life, I had many dreams. Film was just one of them. That's when I was reminded of Barbie.
I found myself thinking back to my earliest memories when a familiar face appeared: Barbie
"I want to be like Barbie," I thought to myself with just a week left before my application deadlines. She's a doctor, lawyer, dancer, singer, and fashionista — all at the same time. Barbie has been to space and debated the nature of humanity, all with just a quick costume change.
I grew up playing with Barbie, and while some admired her for her good looks, I loved Barbie because she was everything she wanted to be. She never chose between art and science; she did both. The Barbies I played with as a kid were mathematicians by day and artists by night.
Like Barbie, I embraced all my interests — even when they were "contradictory." At school, I played on the basketball team, and I was a cheerleader. I took AP calculus, and I participated in theater. Barbie chose all of her dreams, and through pursuing film as a career, I could too. By being a storyteller, I could live countless lives.
I knew Barbie was the way to tell my story and show the college-admissions boards who I really was.
But I worried about what the admissions boards would think about my love for Barbie
This was 2021 — long before the "Barbie" movie mania. Dr. Seuss had been canceled, Mr. Potato Head was no longer a mister, and the M&M characters were under scrutiny.
Endorsing Barbie could crush my dreams. What if someone on the admissions board was one of those people who hated Barbie — a so-called feminist warrior who was missing the entire point? Or what if there was a curmudgeon who believed only serious people should get into film school? I was serious.
My life had been a constant battle between science and the arts, between athlete and nerd, between on-screen talent and behind-the-scenes production. With help from Barbie, I consistently chose it all, and through film, I could bring my ballerina-astronaut dreams to life.
I had to take a chance and tell my story with the help of Barbie
I knew this essay of 650 words or fewer was the only way to show a glimpse of my personality and aspirations to the admissions boards.
Now, two years later, I'm entering my sophomore year of studying film and television production at Chapman University, one of the world's top film schools. I've had the opportunity to direct short films about basketball, pancakes, dance, human trafficking, and even the Easter Bunny.
Barbie can do everything, and through film, so can I — all with some sparkle. I couldn't see any other way to live my life than with the credo: "I want to be like Barbie."