Blackburn women have been warned. We’ve been given an explanation. Nevertheless, we’ve persisted. Blackburn College is unique, and so are its students. Of the Blackburn students who filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), 33 percent were first-generation college students in the fall of 2016, according to Director of Institutional Research Kristi Nelms. And due mainly to the work program, Blackurn is, according to its website, “the most affordable private college in Illinois.” It is no surprise that the journey to college has not been easy or smooth for many Blackburn students.
So when Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) shut down Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with a statement that became a battle cry, “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted,” it evoked not only women worldwide, but especially Blackburn women.
To say that freshman psychology major Amanda Brann has been through a lot would be a massive understatement. To say she’s been to hell and back would be an understatement. The only truth about her struggle is her story.
In 2012, she nearly lost her mother and spent eight months in a rehab center “for depression, suicidal ideation, mood disorders, PTSD, self harm, anorexia, bulimia and a few other things.” Nevertheless, she persisted. She worked to improve her life and eventually attended an open audition for a recording company. Through them, she said, “I traveled to New York, Los Angeles and Nashville. I have four songs on iTunes and a music video.” She ultimately decided not to pursue a recording career any further in favor of persisting in a different way by going to college.
Her lowest point, she said, was “one of the times I tried to take my life and my whole family got involved and I just saw the look on my brothers’ faces and they were just terrified…My mom walked in on me covered in my own blood and…she bandaged me up and told me to tell my brothers everything was okay. ” Brann has attempted suicide eight times, but she feels she’s still alive because she has a purpose. Things have changed for her. “I think I’m not even on the same page right now. I’m in a whole different book…I don’t think the way I used to where…I’m gonna take it out on myself.”
She says her struggles are why she “stay[s] so open and honest.” She looked at her past and thought, “There has to be an alternative to this.” For her, it’s music. She’s now attending Blackburn with the goal of becoming a music therapist but she still struggles. Just this year, she attempted suicide again by intentional overdose but “it was just instant regret.” Nevertheless, she persisted. She had reached a point where she felt that “I’m done and I don’t want to take any of this anymore. But I do. And I continue.”