Kyndal Coleman

I am Kyndal Coleman. I was born and raised in a small conservative town in West Georgia, and if it taught me anything, it was how to persevere. I come from a big, loud, and outspoken family of 8, three brothers and two sisters, and they instilled in me the importance of being authentic and being the best version of yourself that you could be. However, being true to yourself is a lot easier said than done when you have to exist within the parameters of what people think a black person should act like if they wanted respect in a conservative town. I wasn’t supposed to be loud, outspoken, or flashy by their standards. I was expected to be in the background, unnoticeable and insignificant. I learned early on that the mold they made for me wasn’t one I was fit for, and I often ruffled feathers. It began in middle school when my outspokenness about Trayvon Martin got me sent to the principles office, or even most recently in the summer of 2020 when I organized a protest at our city hall. However, despite the hard times and turmoil, Villa Rica has given me, I love where I’m from because it’s given me the strength to be authentically me. That same strength has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and do things I thought I never would, which ultimately led me here to the University of Georgia.