I come from a family of 6 and am the oldest of 4. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother. My parents both work, my mother as an elementary school librarian and my father as a commercial banker. I was born and raised in Grandville, which is a suburb of the city of Grand Rapids. I was homeschooled for the first few years of my education and then went to Grandville Public Schools, starting at South Elementary and then moving to the Grandville Middle School and finishing up my pre-college education at Grandville High School. Looking back, I had a pretty average childhood. My parents were and still are very social people, so we were always doing something whether it was going with my mom and her friend’s children to the park or visiting family up north. I give credit to my parents for making me the social and well-rounded person I am today.
Although Grandville was a nice town to grow up in as I grew older, I became more aware of the problems that a small conservative town holds. These issues became especially apparent when I came out as bisexual in high school and when the covid pandemic hit in 2020. In my graduating class of 450, I only knew a few other kids that were LGBTQ+. Although Grandville wasn’t necessarily known for its blunt homophobia, it wasn’t the most welcoming environment either.
When the Covid pandemic hit in 2020 majority of the world was concerned for the safety and health of the friends and loved ones. This initial response of my school was to transition online to keep cases down and students safe, but when schools began to reopen the next year (the pandemic still at a high) the school board was met with conservative parents fighting ever mask requirement put out by the school. It always struck me as odd how people could only think about themselves and their opinions in a time like this and not about the general safety and wellbeing of other. It made me so upset why these parents and their kids couldn’t just wear a mask for 6 hours a day without making it the biggest deal in the world.
This is where my view of my hometown began to change, and I knew that after high school I needed to leave my town behind me. This was a main contribution to my decision to leave home and attend college outside of West Michigan. Wayne State’s diversity was especially appealing to me and instantly I knew that it would be a good fit for me. Wayne State’s nursing program stuck out to me as I knew for a while that nursing is the field that I wanted to go into. Since being at Wayne State I’ve felt more comfortable being my “true” self and I’ve met so many likeminded and interesting people. So far, I love Wayne State (besides the cafeteria because the food is so bad lol), and I can’t wait to complete my college education here!
