By Irinna Schwenke
Living in Happy Valley for the past four years has been some of the best years of my life.
I''ve gained a good education, made friends with people who have influenced my life for good, and participated in clubs and organizations that have given me a greater appreciation for who I am.
But 'who am I' exactly?
This question I''m sure comes into the mind of almost every student on campus, but for me, the question is more acute because, like the BYUSA posters on campus boast, 'I am diversity'. But am I really 'BYU'?
Coming from a Polynesian background and living in Florida for my entire life, I have always been surrounded by people of other ethnicities.
It wasn''t until I came to Provo that I realized I was ''different''. For the first time in my life, I was the true minority. In a sea of white, I felt like the only speck of color.
As uncomfortable as I felt when I first got here, things got easier as I made friends with the some of the girls on my freshman floor. The funny thing is, these girls weren''t white either - they were ethnic, just like me.
I don''t know if BYU officials purposely did it, or if it was an accident, but the roommate they paired me up with freshman year was a girl who is half-Japanese and from Hawaii.
I don''t mean to be presumptuous in assuming that BYU shoves all multicultural students together, but along with myself and my roommate, another Polynesian girl lived across the hall, two Asian girls lived down the hall, and my RA was from Guatemala.
Coincidence? I don''t think so.
For people who think ethnicity doesn''t factor into how a student fits in at BYU, I think they need to open their eyes to their surroundings.
Fitting in is hard at any school. But at a university that is predominantly white, it can be even harder for students who aren''t that secure with their ethnic heritages.
For me, questions like 'Where are you from?' and 'What ethnicity are you?' crept up everyday and served as a constant reminder that unlike other students, my skin is a different color. There''s no hiding that I''m different, because it shows on the outside.
I am by no means racist. I love white people; some of my best friends are white. However, as a minority, I connect best with people who are minorities as well.
It''s all about the comfort level that you feel with one another. Whether it be food, traditions or environment, people who share these types of things are more likely to get along.
So how has my viewed changed since I first set foot on Utah soil four years ago?
I love BYU. I love it because like the posters on campus read, 'I am diversity'. Not because I''m brown, but because of who I am inside.
Everyone I''ve met here has accepted me for who I am and embraced me for the culture that I represent. BYU may have one of the whitest populations I''ve ever seen, but it is diverse. Diverse in the ideas students hold and the influences they bring to this university.
We''re all different, so we''re all diverse. We are diversity. We are BYU.