Please choose one of the following prompts:

''It's not easy being green'' was a frequent lament of Kermit the Frog. Discuss.

Please respond in 250-300 words.

“It is easy being green, having to spend each day the color of the leaves.”

This was my mantra as a young girl; I disagreed with Kermit. At 13, I could barely introduce myself without squeaking. From timid and introverted to outspoken and open-minded, the Hill School community has transformed me. When I took my first step onto campus, a chill spread through me as if I’d started a physical transformation. Later, as I found my passion for helping others, I began turning into a leader, and my shade started changing. As I encouraged my peers to travel to Turkey with me to help refugees, I found my voice because my passion overcame my fear. This continued in the Philanthropy Council when I stood up for organizations I believed in. No longer was I “green,” either in the blend-in sense or the inexperienced sense. This was evident when I saw I could make a difference.

The joy on the woman’s face was palpable when I told her we’d decided to allot twice the funding her organization had requested. The Hill School Philanthropy Council had been arguing for two weeks, and I finally convinced everyone that intellectually disabled adults deserved literacy, too.

Later, I got a phone call: an anonymous donor was inspired by us and had decided to donate enough to build another center for these adults to learn. What an amazing feeling!

Slowly, my color started becoming greener, and I realized Kermit was wrong. Being green doesn’t mean being the color of the leaves, of blending in and hoping the world will take care of its own problems. There are some shades of green that are impossible to capture, that are unique on their own. I realized I’d turned into “forest green,” a green that meant I was different.