Hi I’m Kayla Pollard! I’m originally from Boise and I am a sophomore this year.  I’m majoring in marketing and minoring in psychology.

Growing up as an only child really shaped how I see the world.  Because I would have been at home bored a lot, my parents encouraged me to spend time with friends.  I experienced a lot of different family dynamics and opinions on topics.  When interacting with each other my family tends to be very reserved, and many of the families I’ve spent time with were very open and outgoing with each other.  One of the biggest things that shaped the way I see things is that my family is very democratic and a lot of my friends’ families had republican view points.  Being around two opposites so often taught me that there are always two sides to a story, and to see both sides before forming my own opinion on subjects.

To continue with seeing different ways of things I have grown up in a biracial family.  My mother is African American and my father is Caucasian.  Even though my mom grew up in Boise her mother made sure to keep the traditions their family had when living in the South alive.  Holidays were always divided into the mornings being my mother’s family traditions and the evenings being for father’s.  I feel like this has always made me very open to seeing different cultures and excited to learn about cultures that are not my own.

I haven’t traveled to any foreign countries, but when travelling in the United States I have seen the different types of lifestyles people can have.  Living in Boise my entire life it has always been a relatively safe place.  When visiting bigger cities, I have seen lower income areas and how that changes the mindset of the people there.  People tend to be more on guard about their surroundings and not as openly friendly to strangers.  Not to say people in bigger cities aren’t friendly as a whole, they just don’t express it as much as people in Boise do.

I normally hear about current events through social media or on the news.  After hearing about a topic that interests me I tend to search out multiple articles about it.  Once I get an understanding of what is happening I have found that I really enjoy seeing what other people have to say about the topic by looking at what people are posting on Twitter or Facebook.

Seeing as I that I experience so many opposites in my everyday life I am always interested in why people think the way they do, and how it shapes what they do.  Instead of just accepting that it was done, I always like to reflect and think about the meaning behind people’s actions and decisions were.

I’m so excited to be in a group with you guys this semester! Hope we have a good time!