I committed to Emory University in late July 2020 as a product of a midsummer change of heart after committing to a different university. I had never made such a bold decision in the past, as I worked tirelessly yet meticulously throughout my upbringing in the Dominican Republic to pursue higher education in the United States. That summer, as I sat with a sinking feeling about the commitment I had made in April, my mother encouraged me to think differently.
“El no ya lo tienes,” she said, reminding me that unapologetically attempting to open a closed door you’d like to step through can never yield truly negative results. Either you find yourself shocked to make it through, entering the space you had hoped to be in, or you find yourself back where you started. She instilled in me the belief that in the face of uncertainty when striving for access, there is no risk — only a potential reward. No one explicitly said that I couldn’t change my mind, so I tried. I will forever remain indebted to Director of Admission at Emory’s Office of Undergraduate Admission Mark Butt, who kindly spoke with me and made the exception that I had deemed impossible. Since then, I have had the pleasure of living several little lifetimes on this campus that I’ve called home.
I became a sociologist in Department Chair and Professor of Sociology Timothy Dowd’s classroom, where I kicked off my academic career with an unconventional double feature: a 300-level class on mass media and social influences and a 400-level sociology capstone course on development of sociological theory. By morphing the degree progression we are expected to follow into an unconventional path that fit my curiosity, I quickly fell in love with my major by completing it somewhat backwards, and met a professor who would become a dear mentor to me. I had skipped to the end of the story and emerged thrilled to take on all the little steps in between. These sociology classes also allowed me to uniquely contextualize my love for visual media into our social reality, leading me to pick up a second major in film and media studies.
The door that was most obviously closed to me led to the lifetime that I have enjoyed the most. I auditioned for TNT Dance Crew in my sophomore year on a whim. Even as I walked into the studio, I wholeheartedly believed that I did not stand a chance of being selected to join the group. I lacked the right training, and most of all, the team was all male. Somehow, my impulsive decision eventually led me to serve for two years as team captain. Now a gender-expansive, genre-bending team of 21 incredible individuals, TNT is truly one of a kind. This experience has colored my Emory career with incomparable joy and challenged me to be a more organized, empathetic and passionate leader.
If I spoke of every lifetime Emory has gifted me, this article would become a novel. I could chat for centuries about my time as a Center for Women “All-Star,” part of the fiercely witty, intelligent and caring team of superheroes running this magical identity space on campus. Most of all, I could ramble on and on about my little lifetime as a friend, both to those whom I met on Zoom before my arrival on campus (and who have stuck around for all four years of this adventure), and to the kind strangers who have become family somewhere along the way.
I am forever grateful to my time at Emory for teaching me just how much one can squeeze out of life if you’re willing to crack open doors that may seem closed off to you. This attitude allowed me to simultaneously walk through these paths when I was originally unsure if I belonged in any — even unlocking the door to the Robert T. Jones, Jr. Scholarship. I know that the girl who nervously sent an email asking whether there was any chance that I could join the Emory community just a month before the start of classes is smiling at me now. I feel as though I am reassuring her, squeezing her hand with every step forward.
As we all move forward with our lives beyond the blossoming trees down Eagle Row, the neon lights in the library and the miscellaneous accessories placed on Dooley’s statue on any given day, I can only hope that this slightly shameless philosophy sinks in further. Make that phone call, apply for that program or audition for that role. The embarrassing moments this attitude yields will, at the very least, make you a lot funnier. The successes it produces can change your life, as it has mine.
Amelia Andujar (24C) is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and majored in sociology and film and media studies. Andujar was involved in the Center for Women, TNT Dance Crew and TEDxEmory on Emory University’s campus. After graduation, she will continue her education at St. Andrews University in Scotland, pursuing a master’s degree in global social and political thought.
