Not from a cookie cutter

Today I helped a some fellow Student Affairs graduate students by letting them interview me about leadership. I remembered being in their shoes last year... I can't believe it has only been a year since I started grad school. It seems like a lifetime ago and yesterday all at once. I had so many reflections all at once.
They asked about my philosophy of higher education, which is that no one should feel education is not an option and no one route is right. My path to where I am, I feel, was predestined. Every experience feels purposeful and has led me to where I am.
They also asked what do I hope to see in higher education in the next 5 years. I said that I hope the system as a whole will be more inclusive and embracing of diversity. I hope it is a broader converstaion then ethnicity. I hope we can talk about and support all types of students because these are the ones we serve. Students are publicly and silently coming from so many experiences. Dealing with issues like race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, religion, mental health, veteran status, undocumented status, alternative education, special needs students, on top of what is already being faced in the field of higher education can be over whelming and leave students feeling unheard and unsupported. I feel like people see me and think they know all they need to know, but like any other person there is so much more then meets the eye. I am not from a cookie cutter and I shouldn't expect students to always be from a cookie cutter.