The room is sweltering, like cappuccino before it has had a chance to sit. The monstrous oak table which occupies the majority of the space is littered with cigarette butts, thick clay mugs, and piles of college applications. The sputtering fluorescent lights mingle with the thin sunlight that creeps into the room through one window. The dull glow illuminates the admissions officer and me, crushed between the hardwood table and the cement wall.

"Please discuss briefly why you are choosing to attend college and what you hope to gain from that experience," he says.

I try to appear suave. After pulling myself together, I squeak, "I want to go to college to get away from Lexington."

"Sweetheart," he says, "that is not much of a reason." He fingers an enormous stack of applications resting threatenly close to a smoldering cigar butt.

"B-But," I stammer, suddenly aware that the officer's eyes have drifted to his empty coffee mug. "I have lived in Lexington all of my life. It's cementing me in, you see? People there have made a life for themselves. They have their two kids and big houses and fancy cars. Everything in their lives is set, and they aren't changing."

"Yes..." the officer struggles to swivel in his chair, but is stopped by the table. "What else?"

"I'd like to meet people who do not come from the suburbs. Maybe meet someone who has lived in Colombia, and aspires to be the first woman on Mars. This past summer I learned third year Spanish at Northfield-Mt. Hermon. Every day I heard Dominicans, Spaniards, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans speaking the language I was learning. They have made me curious about their cultures. I may want to travel to South America to work with people there, to learn more of Hispanic culture, and to hear fluent Spanish again. I don't think I know enough Spanish yet to survive in a native country. At Wesleyan, I would like to find out if a career might develop from my ideas."

I shift my arm, and it cracks."I release all of my pent up energy at school doing drama. On stage, I can escape from the daily stresses of classroom life. I will need theater in college, too." I stop and hope there will be no more questions.

The officer nods, "Thank you, Ms. Katz." n