McKayla Bowens or “MK” is a 15-year-old rising freshman at Bartlesville High School. MK got her nickname from a friend who wanted to differentiate her from all of the other girls who had the same name.
Bowens recently moved to Bartlesville from Kansas to be closer to her extended family. Bowens enjoys writing, specifically romance and religion. She also enjoys singing and has an older sister to brother Santos.
“[I like to write] romance because even though it doesn’t relate to my life I like the perspective,” Bowens said.
Her religious writing goes a little bit deeper, and I focused on this with the budding writer in our interview during OIDJ week.
Q: “Why are you religious?”
A: ”To know God and know that everyone makes mistakes and that we’re all sinners but we can be forgiven and love each other.”
Q: “Why write Christian stories?”
A: “I write to reflect on how I feel about being Christian and my experience. I depict the people around me and myself.“
Q: “What has Christianity done for you?”
A: “Made me a better person. Having the feeling of forgiveness and love makes me feel comfort. It has made me more understanding to the truth and humility of the world and myself.”
Q: “Do you think that your stories reflect how you see yourself?”
A: “I always want to be the hero in my story. It makes me more open in my stories. I tell it how it is. What I’ve done wrong and how I get through it. How I can pray about it and ask for forgiveness.”
“I always want to be the hero in my story. It makes me more open in my stories.”
Q: “Do you think that other people’s’ stories tie into how you see your story?”
A: “No, I base everything about my experience. Sometimes I can relate to some Christian movies I watch. I can relate to the family part a little bit.”
Through reading and writing, Bowens is able to escape reality and make her own story. With her writing, she hopes to touch others and make them feel strong and empowered too. Bowens enjoys being kind to others and tries to use that kindness as member of the yearbook staff. As a co-editor, Bowens has tried to use her kindness as a way to get others to be nice. It hasn’t been easy, and that’s why she’s here at OIDJ.
Q: “Are most people at your school kind?”
A: “ Most people are kind but there are some who aren’t. It depends on who you surround yourself with. The people at my school can be very disconnected on a social level but are very different in a unique way.”
Q: “Why are you here?”
A: “I wanted to work on my leadership skills. … Leadership skills before this were not that strong. I was too nice. People didn’t take me very serious. I hope to learn to be more social. Learn more writing skills and how to be a photographer.”
Q: “What does it feel like when people don’t take you very seriously?”
A: “I feel almost bad for some people when they are mean to me. Like, it doesn’t make sense that they have to say something that makes them feel better about themselves, so honestly, I think it’s more sad than mean. Everyone is perfect in their own special, unique way.”
Q: “What has the week taught?”
A: “How to be a better leader. How to be more social with others. It has taught me what opportunities are in journalism.”
Though it is hard for Bowens to be tough on those around her, she says being at OIDJ this week has helped her.
