UCLA

	Even at the tender age of 10, I was able to sense it coming a mile away. In the midst of enjoying a warm, home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner, one of my several aunts casually mentions the latest policy approved by our new president, Barack Obama. Like clockwork, this is followed by a sarcastic quip from another, more conservative aunt. As one quip turns into another, volume increasing with each word expressed, this ticking time bomb proved to be counting down at an unstoppable pace. There was no time to run and nowhere to hide, all of a sudden I was smack in the middle of a family brawl with nothing to do but sit back and behold the train-wreck we call "family fun". With intentions of escalating nothing, I bite my tongue and curb my instincts to throw in my two cents, even if nobody around me has that same foresight.
	We are the perpetuation of a stereotype, some may say. Italian-American families are always said to be loud and boisterous, it is in our blood. I don't disagree. Neither timid nor introverted, I always have a strong urge to give my opinion in a variety of situations. However, I understand there is a time and place for everything and with regard to my family, sometimes things are better left unsaid. I cannot count on my hands the number of times I have held back on unleashing on my brother for the sake of maintaining peace. The same goes for my sisters, who too can prove to be grating at times. A lack of filters clearly ingrained in our lineage, I certainly do not receive the same treatment from them. This is not to imply that I do not defend myself, but I let go of my selfish need to appear indomitable and appease others to work toward a quick solution. To everyone else, however, this was simply me being "quiet".
	That can be a hard pill to swallow. I certainly do not see myself as quiet. Amongst my friends and peers, I am never one to hesitant from a debate. I can recall a time when a teacher prompted us with a loaded question regarding sexism in the media and humorously expressed the question to me individually, knowing that I was predictably going to be the first to respond. Upon meeting my family for the first time, my boyfriend was downright shocked when I excused myself from the table when discussion over Starbuck's "controversial" holiday cup design commenced. When asked about it later, I simply explained to her that when it comes to family I know when to stop - even if it is at the expense of being perceived as something that I am not.
	So how do I clue my family in on the fact that I am strong-willed, thoughtful, and nowhere near vapid? I am determined to oppose the typical. I am not interested in the SUNYs soon to be attended by nearly everybody around me. But rather, I am interested in traveling across the country to California and taking the reins on changing my life. I want to take the road less traveled, the road that somebody seen as "quiet" would never take. Big personalities are abundant in my family, and now it is time for me to prove that I do indeed fit in.