Each year we ask our classmates a straightforward, simple question taken from the lines of a poem by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Mary Oliver. We share with you intimate and candid responses to this question, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Concept and photography: Tony Deifell, MBA 2002.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
I grew up in a black-and-white world. I lived by the rules, memorized exactly (and only) what my teachers required for exams, and hand-wrote my essays first in pencil and then over again in pen to present the neatest possible assignment.
This perfectionism was no surprise given my upbringing: seven years at a competitive all-girls school in Silicon Valley, two younger sisters for whom to model good behavior, and accomplished parents with wildly high expectations.
But secretly, I dreamed of painting in color.
In college, I stumbled upon a vibrant makerspace, walls drenched in rainbow post-its and rooms furnished with rolling desks and cardboard chairs. This design school flipped my expectations at every turn. I discovered a new way of thinking that revolved around surfacing questions rather than answers, experimenting with radical approaches, and even embracing failure.
I called my parents and broke down in tears—for the first time in years, I felt free. To my surprise, they were proud.
I want to build things that surprise and delight others. I want to unleash the untapped creativity in everyone around me. I want to set people free to live in a colorful world.
