Curiosity Essay

Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (250 words) In December 2021, while browsing in City Lights Bookstore in Chicago, I picked up the book $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin and Luke Shaefer, which describes eight families’ journeys through poverty. My own parents had grown up on government assistance in Southside Chicago, but I was surprised by how much I didn’t know about today’s welfare system.

Curious, I dug deeper: I read the memoir Maid, where Stephanie Land recounts raising her daughter in urban homeless shelters, and was stunned by the documentaries “Poverty, Politics and Profit” and “The High Costs of Being Poor.” I learned about the historical catalysts for safety-net programs, and that millions who qualify for assistance don’t know these programs exist.

I got involved hands-on when I discovered Mothers and Children, a Chicago non-profit. After attending their 202x Men’s Support Breakfast fundraiser, I joined the Leadership Committee. I initially assumed institutional sponsorships were the ideal solution to the organization’s under-funding. However, after speaking with mothers whom the organization supports, I learned that what families need the most are everyday essentials: a third of the women told me they reuse disposable diapers, and many reported being passed over for a job simply because they didn’t own a professional-looking outfit. They needed grassroots community support, from second chances after a gap in employment to affordable housing.

My curiosity about America’s social safety net taught me the importance of perspective: to truly understand a situation, listen to the people who know it best.