Humans of Hofstra: Stella Rose White

Photo Courtesy of Daniel Cody

“I have a very hard time focusing on myself and the things I’m facing when our world is so fucked up. That’s part of why I want to become an attorney; we need more regulation of business and people need to be held more accountable for their actions. We just live in this polarized world where people are like, ‘If I don’t agree with you, I’m just going to turn away,’ and I feel like disagreeing with someone should be the beginning of the conversation, not the end. People don’t know how to have productive conversations anymore, because we all just decide to disagree and not talk about it. I’ve always had a sense of justice, and I just want equality. Long story short, I have three moms and a dad, and three of them are gay – you know, it’s not a conventional upbringing. I’m from Oregon and it’s different on the West Coast, but the way I was treated varied. Kids would say ‘Why does she have two moms? I want two moms!’ and [conversely] ‘That’s a sin, you’re the spawn of the devil.’ People are crazy, and they are going to think what they’re going to think, but I’ve always wanted a more scientific and equal world [in that regard]. I want to go make people do what I think they should do. I’m very good at explaining why people are wrong, and why they should think the other way. A lot of people [in college] don’t realize that the world doesn’t owe you a fucking thing. The minute you realize that, life is a whole lot more fun. As long as my actions aren’t going to impact anyone in a negative way, then there’s no reason for me not to do what I enjoy. So, like, I enjoy reading out in the garden, dressing up in flowery clothes and decorating my car however I want. I think that’s a huge flaw in our generation; we are scared of the outside world. I’ve talked to college event planners, and they have a hard time planning events on campuses because people would rather sit in their rooms on their phones. I have been fortunate enough to travel a lot and I think that it really benefitted me. I’ve been to 33 states and out of the country a few times, and that influenced my outlook and why I think the world needs to change. I’m a pretty quiet person. I am much more of a listener than a speaker. I’m most focused on how I can use these first years as best as I can. We can’t control our first responses, but we can absolutely change our second one.”