On October 12th, 2007, a rather chunky redheaded baby girl was born in Saint Louis, Missouri. Weighing in at about 8 pounds and 2 ounces, her parents were gleaming with pride for their firstborn daughter. They swept her off her back from the hospital cot and took her home to their first house on Gordon Road. Unsure of what to name her, her parents opened a big book of Irish baby names and one fell right into their laps: Maura. They kissed her brow and told her that when she grows up, she can be anything she wants to be. From that day on, baby Maura was destined to grow up to be someone who defines her own path. I have always thought of myself as weird. The first thing someone would notice about me is my hair. I am a redhead, this much is true, but not the type of redhead most people would imagine in their heads. I am not the fiery ginger as many books would describe redheads, but I am more of a mere autumn leaf that floats to the grass in the fall. In addition to being different from others in the redhead community, I was always quite different than my peers in good old St. Charles, Missouri. Throughout grade school and high school, it was difficult to find people who related to my rambunctious and rather annoying personality. I jump and squeal and definitely lose my volume control when I get excited. I have the energy of a puppy that just learned how to run around and bark at the mailman. I tend not to understand when people are joking with me. I was bad at sports and had hobbies that people in my class just didn't, such as taking dance classes, being in theatre productions and baton twirling. These things made it difficult for me to have a normal conversation with people my age. Growing up with this view of myself, I've come to accept that people's impressions of me being odd or goofy don't affect my life as a whole. What affects it is whether or not I am a good person to other people. I typically find myself committing to actions for others, like going out of my way to pick up items from Facebook Marketplace for friends who don't like to drive, or simply running my coworkers' food to their tables when I am at my job. I strive to be the person that anyone can go to for help or just to talk. To admit who I am is a difficult task that took years to accomplish. However, this is a common goal for most individuals. In high school, I always found myself looking for an answer to why everyone has to go through this mental process, why are we as humans so human? This led me down a rabbit hole of Netflix documentaries on evolution, books about how technology is shaping my generation, and even more books on one overarching theme: Anthropology. I yearn to learn more about who we are and what makes humans special. I want to grow up to be the person that others come to to help them understand an issue. I want to be the one to take care of others. I want to be the one who can make a difference in this world by understanding who we are. This is why I am studying Anthropology. Grown-up Maura wants to change the world by helping others and giving them a sense of belonging that she longed for. She thanks you for reading.