*TRIGGER WARNING: FLASHING LIGHTS*

Hi! My name is Ayiana Baynes and as of 2024, I am a freshman at Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville (SIUE). Even though I currently reside in Edwardsville, IL, I have lived in multiple places in an outside of Illinois my entire life. During the first seven (7) years of my life, I lived in various cities in Cook County, Illinois; the most prominent one being Calumet City. Even though I spent less than half of my life there, it still greatly influenced me after moving away. After Illinois, I moved to Missouri where I lived in Maryland Heights for the next six (6) years before finally settling down to my current city, Wentzville, MO. I stayed there during my high school years, and I am still there in 2024. Moving around from city to city allowed me to see and experience different people, cultures, etc., and I will be forever grateful for that because it has allowed me to see the advantages that being open-minded has.

During my time at SIUE, I plan to grow as a person. Getting my degree and making life long experiences is also the plan, but growing as a person encompasses those things and more. Originally, my career plan was to be an Obstetrician Gynecologist (OB/GYN) because I wanted to bring more representation into that field as a Queer Black Woman. However, after getting a reality check when I started taking the classes needed to go to medical school, I realized I not only impulsively decided upon that career path, but I also didn’t really want to go down that road. I sat down with my academic advisor, as well as other people around me, to get insight into what I should do. As of now, I will be changing my major to Sociology because not only is it a degree I can build from, but it will also allow me to engage in classes that I am passionate about. My expected graduation year is 2028 and I am currently still on track to graduate by then.

On most days, the way I spend my time is by bed rotting while watching tv with a good meal. However, my hobbies are anything, but that. I like to try out and explore different things and activities. My most common hobbies are singing, making music, and finding different ways to be artistic.

One obstacle I had to overcome was getting through school while dealing with my mental health. During high school I was at my worst and I didn’t have many resources that could help me. Therefore, I ended up having to find different ways to live with it, as well as get through high school while going through it. Since I am now a freshman in college, I would like to see that as one of the biggest obstacles I have overcome.