Maverick Profile: Meet the mysterious “Amazing Kirby”
There is only one Amazing Kirby at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and once met, he cannot be forgotten.
Kirby has brought many fellow students joy through his invincible personality and his ability to strike up a conversation with anyone, as well as give them a nickname he uses regularly. He answers primarily to “Amazing Kirby,” and many of his friends and acquaintances do not know his last name or his age. In that respect, the Amazing Kirby remains a mystery.
BACKGROUND
Kirby originally came to the U.S. from China. In college, he is a junior transfer student anticipating super senior-dom, as he recently switched his major from graphic design to mass media. Kirby said his biggest obstacle in mass media is that he still struggles with the English language barrier. However, he’s passionate about the major and he also has an eye for color and design.
“Colors represent everything,” he said. “I will call myself an artist, but I am not so cocky about it. I know the skill, but I am not a master of it.”
GOALS & PASSIONS
Kirby is a planner, so he naturally thinks ahead to his post-college years. He hopes to get a job in his major field so he can finish paying his loans.
His ideal career would be in the entertainment industry, so he could make people happy. Since he is not a very serious person, Kirby wants a job where he can laugh and have fun in a professional setting, as well as share humor with others.
His broad goal is to “become a more successful, powerful, useful and helpful person.” He’s eager to make the world a better place, and one of his passions is caring for homeless animals.
“Growing up as a single kid, my family didn’t want me to have a cat or dog and I was very lonely. I would see a homeless cat or dog in the street and know what they felt like,” he said.
Kirby said that although he is poor now, he hopes to later have enough money to help the animals who need homes.
“Humans care about themselves a lot. They don’t care as much about other species,” he said.
Kirby strongly believes that we need to provide for any living creature that is a part of our earth.
CULTURE
When asked to describe a difference in American and Chinese culture, Kirby replied that there were a lot to choose from. For instance – “You guys take showers in the morning. We take them at night, because we don’t want to go to sleep when we are dirty.” Kirby also believes that people are more connected to their families in China, while Americans focus more on independence. In America, he said that parents seem to allow their children more freedom, while Chinese parents will do more for their children to advance their education and career. Part of this difference may stem from the fact that Chinese couples are only allowed to have one child, unless both parents come from a single-child household – then they are allowed two children.
HOBBIES
Kirby’s hobbies are many. He enjoys watching TV and movies, especially science fiction and fantasy. In addition to absorbing the stories of others through media, he creates his own as well, writing stories and screenplays. Fiction gives him a creative outlet.
“I want to write down [things] that cannot happen in real life,” he said. He is also fascinated by psychology. “You learn about human connection, human behavior, and how they think. You can also learn how to make people laugh.”
Kirby implements his knowledge of psychology into his daily conversations with friends and strangers alike, as he can easily detect body language cues and unspoken messages. “I feel like I can read people more than other people.”
FINAL WORDS
Kirby has a message he tells himself, and he wants to pass it on to other students as an encouragement in all they might be going through. He said, “It’s impossible for everyone to like you, but you have the ability to make people like you.” These are words Kirby uses daily, to make friends in this American culture and create human connection wherever he travels in Mankato and beyond.