Savannah Robinson

On my desk sits a beautiful painted picture that is the most cherished possession I own. When you first look at it you may wonder what it is or why I have it there. To the naked eye most people think it is some scribbles simply done by a child. Some people may even question if it is art. But then, when I tell them that it is done by a male orangutan, one may find great value in it. However, it is not until I point out the shapes of the lines and the circumstance in which it was painted that most people can truly see the real value. When studying the painting and knowing that he was given the task of painting a picture for me for Christmas, one can clearly see the outline of what appears to be a male ape holding a canvas. To the right of the ape, one can assume that it is a primal image of the person watching him paint. Some may disagree, but there is great value in his individual attention given to the painting. So, was it just scribbles or lines on a paper? Only the person evaluating can add value and see the potential of the art.

Life is like art. Many things are subjective and value cannot be added until you know the circumstances. People overlook the abilities of someone who sees the world differently. However, I have found that seeing things differently is not a disadvantage but rather an advantage with challenges. It brings about curiosity. Curiosity is a part of who I am. I find that a day doesn’t go by without new questions transpiring at every part of the day. It is how new discoveries are crafted and old ones are deflated. “We keep moving forward, opening doors, and doing new things because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” (Disney, n.d.). Like Walt and many more influential people, I am dyslexic. This also includes my direct relative Sir Isaac Newton. Dyslexia to me is not a disability. It is an ability to see things in new lights. Dyslexia pushes one to be curious in new found ways. To borrow Mr. Disney’s phrase, dyslexia “keeps us moving forward, opening doors and doing new things.”

One thing that peaks my intellectual curiosity is primates like the one mentioned above. I currently volunteer at the Louisville Zoo in the Islands and have been doing so for quite some time now. In doing this I have found that orangutans are smarter than you think. There is a saying at zoos that if something is “orangutan-proof” it is “anything-proof.” This leads one to consider the intellectual capacity of the orangutan. How can an orangutan understand some of the same things that humans comprehend? How are they able to paint and in some cases even use sign language? No, this idea is not new by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, there is a side of me that is curious about how these remarkable creatures can communicate. How far can they intellectually progress? One could also question if they are susceptible to things such as dyslexia as well? I find this incredibly intriguing. At the Louisville Zoo, there are four Orangutans: Amber, Teak, Bella and Segundo. Each of them have quite different personalities. Each one has marked differences. Amber in my opinion is the most curious of them all. She finds daily pleasure in tapping on the glass and asking you to pull out items to show her from your backpack, purse or whatever you may have with you. Carefully examining each one then tapping for you to turn it or to show her how it works, Amber will entertain herself by studying human items. She is making efforts to understand us and our environment. There is one thing she does that is quite intriguing. Each time when I first greet her she will ask to see my hands carefully and closely looking at each one. She will follow the lines in my hand. Then what happens next is even more strange. She knows that she has lines on her hands; and, she will compare my hands to hers. As she does this, she will tap at things like cuts and hangnails letting me know they are on my hand. While one could consider this a form of grooming, one also must wonder where some of this curiosity comes from and just how much knowledge she is capable of retaining.

In addition to volunteering for the Louisville Zoo, each year I provide countless community service hours by volunteering for many organizations including Norton Children’s Hospital and various lupus organizations. Between the many organizations, I have about 300 service hours logged each year. In addition, I also work as an actress/model for Heyman Talent in Louisville, Kentucky.

Currently I am pursuing a communication degree with a minor in film. My degree and education here will give me the chance to answer questions like how can an ape relate how they feel or what they see, but also create educational films to enlighten the public on matters regarding animal welfare and environmental subjects such as palm oil. Upon graduation, I hope to gain a job with Disney or National Geographic. My degree and education here will give me the chance to answer questions like how can an ape relate how they feel or what they see.