“If It Looks Like a Cult” (2022-2023)

Desiring to excavate myself from a perceived rut, there was a good bit of time when I fell asleep and woke up to the voice of people like Tony Robbins. Slowly, the idea of self-improvement consumed me. I spent much of my digital time engaged with various Ted Talks and podcasts. A little obsessive–sure. But, I wouldn’t say it was harmful or unhealthy. Nonetheless, when given this writing assignment, I wanted to delve deeper into that world–one that, despite my earnest efforts, I’d only grazed the surface of before (mostly because, as I briefly mention in my essay, I had no means to pay for many programs’ expensive fees). 

Although Tony Robbins guided me into the world of self-improvement, I’d grown restless after hearing his same messages over and over again in his free Youtube material. By the time this essay assignment came around, I’d moved on. In fact, I initially chose Tom Bilyeu as my main subject but found myself unable to achieve a level of objectivity that’d allow me to explore what Bilyeu does without turning the essay into a doting puff piece rather than an illuminating investigation. Upon reconsideration, choosing Robbins felt right. I started out with him, grew to love his work intensely, then found it distasteful, and finally considered myself cured of his appeal. At sixteen years old, I had an insatiable desire to get closer to his circle. Yet I rode my own roller coaster to self-betterment. In turn, I couldn’t help wondering as I started this essay: what kind of a ride did others–completely independent adults–find themselves on?

Crystal Baik, ‘25, studies nursing and global public health at Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She’s been a bookworm ever since she can remember and grew up avoiding the scorching Southern California sun, forever scanning the schoolyard for shade. Passionate about student leadership, she serves in NYU Steinhardt’s Undergraduate Student Government as Advocacy Committee Chair and in her dormitory’s building council as a Floor Representative. She enjoys exploring a variety of questions in her writing, where she finds a much needed reprieve during stressful times.