Name: Kayla Wells
College: Lynn University
What Excites you most about going to college? To further my education.
What does BLM mean to you as a new student: To me it means stop killing us. I kinda feel
More protected but it’s still an issue, there’s only a few Black kids going to my school in Florida.
Advice to Current Highschool Student: High School may not be the best but it pays off in the end.
Personal Statement
Growing up, I attended a performing arts school in the city of Detroit. I was active in dance, vocals, orchestra, band, drama, creative writing and even computer programming. However, in the eighth grade, I lost a dear childhood friend of mine to suicide, causing me to become interested in mental disorders and the people battling them. Moving into high school, I dropped a lot of the activities I had picked up over the years. My junior year of high school, I joined the marching band, the robotics team, and the softball team. Not to mention the fact that I was already occupied with my school’s advanced orchestra program. I had become so used to being busy, that I didn’t realize when it started to take a toll on me. I knew I couldn’t drop playing the violin, it’s been my “gift” since I was only five years old, and I quickly fell in love with pitching on the softball team, so I dropped everything else.
Over time, I have grown to be very passionate of the study of mental disorders (psychopathology), the causes, symptoms, treatments, and all around the whole field. I am intrigued by the process of how disorders come to be and how they affect different people in different ways. I want to make sure no one feels alone with their mental disorders. There is about 19% of Americans with mental disorders, which is around 44 million people in America dealing with it. It is very common amongst teenagers and young adults especially, and the suicide rate has been skyrocketing. I want to make a change and help those who feel alone know that they are not alone and there’s always someone they can talk to. I know that it does not feel good feeling alone, even when you have people to support you, and I feel as though no one should have to go through that. Rather it be because of a misdiagnosis or they’re ashamed to speak up about it, if they aren’t getting the proper help or treatment, they’re inevitably harming themselves more than helping themselves. I want to go into psychopathology to be able to help those who didn’t get proper help from a doctor or psychiatrist. Many people are just told, “You have schizophrenia” or “You’re chronically depressed,” and they just put them on medication without detail or emotional help. Medication doesn’t always help those suffering; sometimes the medication needs to be backed up with support and more detail about what’s going on. With my goal in place to focus on psychopathology, I can help others to grasp a better understanding of mental states and how they can affect each patient individually. This can aid in promoting awareness, diagnosing, and providing proper care for those in need. I desire to be able to have all the necessary knowledge, plus more, and do what many psychologists and doctors fail to do. Psychiatrists and traditional therapists or psychologists have been trained to be strictly professional and to give their clients or patients the psychological facts of what they’re feeling, with no empathy to back it up, and that pushes too many people away from proper help or to try to self-medicate or deal with it on their own. I need to give them both the information and emotional support and understanding that they may not get from many traditional therapists. I want them to know that they are not alone and that they do not have to avoid seeking proper help out of fear, angst, or nervosity.
Favorite Quote
“Life is a beautiful mess. A collage of chaos, celebration, failure, and success. Only love will get us through, so love we must express.”
-Eternal Sunshine
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