I am Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream: a blend of bold, rich chocolate infused with a tangy and bittersweet minty flavor which combines to provide a strong flavor that represents who I am. Mint Chocolate Chip is a contradiction between two different flavors that should not have been blended in the first place, yet due to some odd man’s creative endeavor they came together, inevitably becoming one of the most known and beloved flavors of people throughout the world. Don’t get me wrong, some people I have come across hate the taste and cannot even stand just a whiff of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. But the people who love it cherish every bite of the bold, strong, tangy flavor that knocks their taste buds out. Similarly, I am a contradiction of two blended flavors that create my identity.


At nine, I was the bold, rich familiar flavor of chocolate. My favorite ice cream flavor was Chocolate, as it was also for a million other children in the world. I was just like any other child who thought that the world was a magical and perfect place. There was no wrong or right, no rejection or failure; I was part of the crowd and strived to not be the elephant in the room. I shared similar interests, clothes, and Barbie dolls with the other girls in my school and knew what I wanted for my future. I planned out a map of my life, where I was going to be by the time I was 10, 15, and 20 and what I would be doing. By age ten, I was going to graduate fifth grade and receive an award for best performance in the annual school play. At fifteen, I would be a high school spelling bee champ. Finally at twenty, an age that would leave me turning gray and old, I would be at a prestigious college earning straight A’s and studying criminal justice in preparation for a career in the police force. At the time I was fearless, naïve, and innocent. I thought I knew the pathway to my future and that only happy endings existed. Funny, how life can take a turn, without any kind of notification or warning sign.

Now at seventeen, I am the tangy, distinct flavor of Mint. Mint is like none of the other flavors; it stands alone from conventional flavors such as: Chocolate, Strawberry, or Vanilla. Mint knows its own boundaries and strives to seek above its own limits. Likewise, I choose the pathway that is untouched, uncommon, and unacknowledged by the rest of society. I stand up for my beliefs, even though I may be single-handedly attacked by the unified beliefs of others. I look at life not as a pathway through a map, but more like a series of steppingstones leading into a bright future. Everything I do and receive brings me one step closer to discovering my true calling so that I can wake up each day being able to do what I love. I am still innocent and naïve, but I am more open to opportunities and experiences. I have a less rigid sense of direction for my life. I want to study a wide range of fields, from art history and music composition to international diplomacy and Russian studies. Now I look at life as a spontaneous adventure; wherever life takes me, I was meant to be there for a reason. I now know that there are less happy endings and that no life is really lived without both ups and downs.


My life is a contradiction that has blended the mentality of two ages: nine and seventeen to create a clearer image of my identity; the perfect blend of my bold, nine year old innocence filled with excitement and perfection, in that everything I touch becomes gold and of my present mature and optimistic, seventeen year old self, who believes that through determination and the right kind of attitude, I can go far and be a blessing to others. At college, my perfect mixture of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream will fully develop. I will be a hint of Chocolate flavor by dreaming and creating who I will become for my future. I will be a hint of Mint flavor, by standing out from my peers by challenging myself and taking one more step than the norm. I will be open to new experiences and different activities, such as learning how to square dance or traveling abroad to Guatemala. It’s amazing how similar my life parallels to the combining flavor of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. I am the perfect contradiction of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.