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Present Experience Of Self - Coggle Diagram
Present Experience Of Self
Schooling
JMU: Growing up I had always visited JMU and know about it because my whole family went here. This led to me resenting the school at first because I wanted to be different. Every other school I visited just didn't compare and I realized I can make my own story while here. I am now a sophomore and wouldn't trade my experiences and the people I have met for the world. Nothing can compare to the positive and welcoming feeling that this school gives off. I have grown as a person so much while living on my own for the past two years and have truly met my lifelong friends. Without JMU I would still be a little sheltered, quite, and anxious child.
Justice Studies: Although many people question why I want to study crime my whole life and if I "really can handle all of that trauma", I can happily say that Justice Studies with the Criminal Justice and Pre Law track is perfect for me. I have always been a curious person who wants to solve issues while helping others. I grew up always going onto Quantico's base (which is where majority of the FBI academies and buildings are) so I learned what that meant from a young age. While in high school I found my love for true crime podcast, and would find myself doing research on criminals and things going on in the world that was crime related. This has all led me to my now major and the hopes of becoming a profiler one day. I would be solving issues, in the know about what's going on, while also helping victims families get closure.
Becoming a professor: When I was younger I would set up all my stuffed animals and play teacher. This was my favorite game and everyone thought that would be my career one day. In high school I was in a class called Teachers for Tomorrow and we would go to our local schools and help teach. I learned very quickly that teaching, especially young kids, was not for me. After coming to JMU I had the realization that I could be a professor after I retire or while doing my profiling job. This though has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for me and my current interests!
Highschool: Although I grew up in a very middle-class and nice are, my schooling experience was very different. My neighborrhood got pulled to the other side of the county to go to a school that was in the "ghetto". Being one of only 17 white students in the whole school I got a very diverse experience. Although there were many traumatizing moments that would happen within the school and area I would never change my experience there for the world. That school showed me how fortunate I am, taught me how to get along with all types of backgrounds and aggression levels, and overall thickened my own skin. I think attending this school also led to my love for Justice Studies.
Cheer
I started cheerleading competitively when I was in 6th grade. I had no clue that it would soon become my whole life and personality. I have now been involved with competitive cheer ever since. The most influential era of cheer for me was while cheering at Stingray Allstars. I got to travel around the country competing at very high levels. My coaches brought me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to be not only the best athlete I could but also a strong and reliable teammate. The experiences, friendships, and lessons I learned all of these years will stick with me forever. I am now pursuing a coaching position at an Allstar gym in harrisonburg to influence girls and give them the same opportunities I was blessed with.
JMU Competitive Cheer: After I graduated high school I didn't know what to do with myself because I could no longer cheer at my old gym. I tried out for the JMU team and made it!! I went on to meat my best friend Macy and many other wonderful people. Season one was amazing, and for my sophomore year I was elected Vice President of the team. I had no clue that this year would actually lead to me quitting the team and leaving that position due to lots of toxicity. Although it was a really rough choice to make I am very proud of myself for not letting people walk on me. Walking away from a sport I dedicated majority of my life to is hard, but this decision has really taught me how to stick up for myself and that I can do very hard decisions.
Working out: Competitive cheerleading is a huge timecomitmenta and very physically demanding. After leaving that world I had so much free time that I didn't know what to do with. I wanted to stay super fit so I filled my time by getting into the gym. This is now a huge part of my daily life and my escape from reality. I love the gym so much and am sad when I am not able to workout.
UREC: Finding my love for working out and being in the gym led me to applying to a second job which is working in UREC. This is now my second semester working here as a fitness assistant and I love it. I have met so many amazing new people and gotten great work experience on campus.
Friends
Jenna: Who would've know that me reading out to some random girl on instagram before college started would have impacted my life so much. Jenna became my roommate for freshman year. I had never shared a room before, let alone know how to live with all girls since I grew up with brothers. She really opened my eyes to what having a sister would be like, and since she is from Jersey, I got to see a whole new way of life as well. Ive are still best friends and still get the "OMG you're both named Jenna.. and you're roommates?"
Jessie: Jessie and I started as suite mates freshman year, but our bond quickly grew into something much deeper. From late-night talks to spontaneous adventures, we became inseparable, learning about each other’s quirks and building a friendship that felt effortless. We’re still living together, and it’s clear how much she’s shaped my life. Her unwavering support, sense of humor, and ability to always push me out of my comfort zone have made me a more confident and open person. Having her by my side has made every challenge easier and every moment more meaningful.
Macy: I met Macy first semster freshman year. She lived iin my dorm, but we met walking out and going to cheer tryouts at the same time. Ever since we both made the team we haven't let each others side. She has showed me what true friendship is, because in my hometown before it was hard to find that. I count imagine my life without her. We have travel together, visited over the summer break, and will be living together next year!
Boyfriend: Brett and I knew about each other since 8th grade because we had many mutual friends. We started talking the summer before Junior year of high school, and now we have been dating for almost 4 years. I couldn't imagine my life without him. He goes to Virginia Tech and plays baseball. We make the long distance work extremely well. He has showed me true love and has been my biggest supporter through everything.
Baseball: Every side dating Brett, baseball has become a major part of my life. He has played his whole life and is now getting drafted to go pro for it. This has caused the sport to become huge in my life from researching about it to learn the game, going to his games, to now even just watching it on TV for fun!
Geography
Moving around
Harrisonburg: My whole life I have grown up coming to Harrison urn because both of my parents and my older brothers went to JMU here. I would come to watch their games, move them in, go to massanutten, or even just hang out. I always knew I loved the local area and the mountains, which led me to wanting to be a student here. I have been able to make my own experiences and explore new areas that I never saw while growing up visiting here. These new experiences have made me fall in love with the mountains and area even more. Living in a mountain has now given me the experience of city living and mountain living, further solidifying the idea that I want to live buy water one day.
Beach living: For vacation my family would always visit my grandparent's beach house in Myrtle so I am very used to that area. Today it is a full circle moment because my parents are building a house down there to move to this summer. This is causing me to be in a major period of transition. Although I can't wait to get away from NOVA and live by water, part of me is torn beach that is my childhood home. This transition period is forcing me to be more flexible and become open minded to new possibilities that are soon to come.
NOVA: I gre up my whole life living in the same house in Northern Virginia. I lived right off of I95 which is a major highway, and was very close to DC. This led to my now being very used to the city and all of the metropolitan traffic and chaos. As of right now I want to get away and go live somewhere near water that is less busy
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Travel
Travel
My favorite thing to do is to travel. I love exploring and would rather spend my money on experiences and flights rather than objects. I learned my love for traveling when my mom and I would travel to different states for cheer competitions. She is my travel buddy, but as I have gotten older I have started to branch off and travel places with just my friends. My whole family used to go on cruises every other summer as a gift from my grandma, so I feel in love with being out of the country and seeing other ways of life. I plan on continuing to travel the rest of my life.
Study Abroad: A major part of my life right now is looking forward and preparing to study abroad this summer. I am going on a trip for my major to Verona Italy. This is continuing my love for traveling and experiencing new cultures. I couldn't be more excited and it is all I think about currently.
Family
Mom:
My mom has always been my best friend and she has shaped me in countless ways—her kindness, strength, and unwavering support taught me the importance of empathy and resilience. She showed me how to be patient, work hard, and stay true to myself. Her ability to handle the many challenges she has dealt with in her life with grace inspired me to approach life with a similar mindset, and her constant belief in me has given me the confidence to pursue my dreams of becoming a cheer coach and profiler.
Dad: My dad has been a constant source of guidance and wisdom in my life. His work ethic, sense of responsibility, and integrity shaped my values and taught me the importance of perseverance. He instilled in me the belief that no challenge is too big if you approach it with determination and honesty. My favorite memory with him that I think about daily was while running a 5k for Girls on the Run in elementary school, he kept praising me about how he had never seen anyone so determined and that I didn't stop running even on the massive hill everyone else walked on. I think of this memory and how proud he was of me daily when I want to give up on something, and it motivates me to keep going.
2 Older Brothers: Growing up the youngest of two older brothers has been one of the most influential aspects of my life. They never "went easy" on me, and always treated me like a third brother. This taught me pretty quickly how to be tough, how to not let anything bother me, and made me to be very down to earth and drama free to this day. Being the youngest was hard though, because I had to wash both of them move out before I could and I was always know as "Mckenna's little sister". This has caused me to become very out going though, and forced me to go the extra mile and create my own path so I didn't follow in theirs. For example I quit soccer (because they both were soccer players) and started cheerleading.
Edrissa: My oldest brother met this boy named Edrissa in elementary school while playing soccer. Many years later he is now my unofficially adopted brother! My family took him in after seeing that he had emigrated over here and had no real parent figure and his living conditions were not ideal. Edrissa has shown me that the impossible is possible. He has now become a first generation college student, graduated, and has an intelligence job with a huge company. He has influenced me to become the best version of myself and to always have a big smile, and an even bigger heart no matter what you are going through.
Covid: I felt like I had to add in a section for the 2020 pandemic. COVID cut my freshman year of high school short and I didn't go back to school until my Junior year. Too this day I still feel like I should be in high school, because of how short it was. COVID completely shifted the way I lived, both in terms of everyday routines and my perspective on life. I found myself rethinking priorities—what really matters, what I took for granted, and how fragile life can be. It challenged me to be more resilient, patient, and creative in finding joy and balance within my life.