Bland branches out on her own
By Shalom Baer
University Communication Student Assistant
publicinformation@minotstateu.edu
MINOT, N.D. – Broadcasting and professional communications major Payton Bland doesn’t necessarily blend into the crowd.
Bland developed alopecia — an autoimmune disease due to a chemical imbalance in the body that causes people affected to lose their hair — when she was two years old.
However, Bland doesn’t look at her alopecia in a negative light.
“When I was 12, Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona asked me to be this guinea pig for this laser treatment, and I was like, no. Obviously, I’m not meant to have hair,” Bland said. “I’m meant to be this little social butterfly without hair, which has made me completely who I am. I don’t want to have hair. I love being bald. I don’t think I’d be able to take the big steps that I take now without that because I would just be following the crowd.”
She doesn’t attempt to hide her condition, partially because she can help support others by being open about it.
“My alopecia has done nothing but made me a better person. I am so comfortable in my own skin, and I’ve been able to talk to people and help them get out of their shell,” Bland said. “I Facetime this little girl from Minnesota, and I found her through someone’s grandparents, and it’s so amazing because she wore a wig forever, and now that we talk we’re like best friends. I think there was definitely a reason that I have this to be able to portray it and be strong about it. I forget that I’m bald 70 percent of the time.”
One big step that Bland, who is a freshman and only 17 years old, took out of her comfort zone was moving away from her hometown, Mesa, Ariz. to Minot where she has no family.
“It’s an adventure,” she said. “It’s a really big stepping stone. I have to learn how to do these things on my own. I’m really starting to love it. Yeah, it’s terrifying, but also amazing.”
While she talks to her family daily, Bland finds support and comfort through MSU Life.
“Aaron Hughes, (Minot State student activities coordinator) is literally my mother away from home,” Bland said. “Being able to be involved makes me feel so much better. I feel so appreciated in everything I do. I’ve done crazy big things for my high school and never really gotten appreciation. Here, I chalked on the sidewalk and they were like, ‘you’re so amazing.’”
Bland feels not enough students take advantage of opportunities on campus.
“There’s so many people on campus who say they’re struggling, it’s cold, and there’s nothing to do. You have to take that initial step and try to do something,” Bland said. “I took that step as soon as I got here, and now I’m hoping to be the director of MSU Life next year.”
When Bland graduates from Minot State, she hopes to be a traveling motivational speaker.
“In my sophomore year of high school, I went to HOBY in Arizona, which is a leadership seminar. There were motivational speakers there and it just totally changed my life. That really just opened me up to know that I’m capable of so many things that I didn’t even know I could be capable of,” Bland said. “There’s so much negativity around me, and I don’t need to fall into that. I can be that positive thing. It’s just I need to take that step to be that leader. My outlook on things is completely different now, and how cool would that be for me to impact someone the way that I’ve been impacted?”
While still attending the University, she hopes to experience as much as possible.
“Before I graduate, I would love to study abroad. I think that would be just a beautiful thing. This is the time of our lives to do that and go and travel,” Bland said. “I would also hope to do an internship of some sort and be able to climb up to show myself that I can achieve that.”
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through
rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.
| Published: 11/16/18 |
