Jeffries 1 If You Really Knew Me An Autobiography Kendall Jeffries EDUC 111: Introduction to Teaching Professor Eastman February 15, 2011
Jeffries 2 Abstract: If I had to choose one word to describe my story it would be opportunity. Growing up I was always provided with all the support and encouragement from my family, friends, and educators which allowed me the opportunity to succeed. Then as life went on I realized difficult times are merely more opportunities to learn and succeed. Recently I ve taken the advantage of traveling to Italy to compete in an International Softball tournament, and to go to Manchester and explore and expand my horizon and grow. My dream in life is to be able to present opportunities to everyone around me as often as I can, and the education system seems like the perfect place for me to let that happen.
Jeffries 3 My mom always told me July 22, 1991 was the happiest day of her life, while others told her she would have her hands full with me. I was born in Lafayette, Indiana at Home Hospital, with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other close family friends there. My mom Deborah, and father Timothy took me home the next day and I guess you will just have to figure out the rest. Remembering the first couple years of my life is like asking someone to memorized a million numbers. Sure they can get some but they never remember them all. I am sure of the fact I probably cried, screamed and created a bunch of havoc in our house during the first years. While I m sure all those cute baby things and pictures mean the world to my parents, none of it really mattered to me. I was too busy hanging out with my older half-brother Trevor, and you could definitely tell we were not from the same exact gene pool. Trevor liked to cause a lot of trouble and find ways to get himself into trouble, and he somewhere always found a way to drag me down with him. Of course I was going to follow him, he was my big brother I wanted to be just like him, I looked up to him and always wanted to hang out with him and his buddies. I would never admit it when I was little, but Trevor was my role model, and by seeing all the mistakes he made, showed me how to not act in life and showed me the better road to go down to succeed in life. It seemed as though my brother and I should have been destined to be the best people we could have been, we had the best parents in the world, and a great support systems all around us. From the moment I came into this world my parents, my two uncles and my grandma have always been there for me. If I needed to sell stuff for a school fundraiser my grandma would buy
Jeffries 4 twice as much as anyone else just so she could see me smile because I made my goal. My uncles spent numerous lunch breaks throwing and playing catch with me in there front yard, and my parents hauled me all over the country to travel softball tournaments and basketball games. I always knew that whatever path I chose in life my family would always be there and encourage me every day to do what I loved and that no one could ever chose for me, because it was my life and my path to follow. My most important family which mostly consists of my parents, two uncles and my grandma live five minutes from my house. So whenever I needed someone to talk to or just some advice I could just jump on my bike and ride to their house. I never had to worry about a babysitter because my grandma was my babysitter. She had been taking care of me since I was born. My family means everything to me, and has shaped me into the person I am today. While growing up I never imagined myself as a teacher. Don t get me wrong I loved going to school and everything about it, but as a child I dreamed of being a professional woman s basketball like a lot of children do. I went to Southeast Fountain Elementary School and had the best support system around me supporting that goal. Even though all the teachers knew I would never go to the WNBA they still supported me and encouraged me to be in all the basketball programs and school and surrounding areas. My sixth-grade teacher Mr. Clark was probably my biggest fan; he was my basketball coach and helped me all the time. He would stay late after practice with me so I could shoot extra free throws, or work on my dribbling skills, and I never fully understood how much he was giving up to help me. And I am so thankful for that. He also talked to the junior high coaches and told them of my ability and what I was capable of so they would know what to expect the year when I was in junior high. At my school there is not a junior high like most school. We had K-6 in our elementary school and 7-12 in our high school. So after sixth grade graduation everyone was scared about
Jeffries 5 being in the high school next year with all the big kids, I on the other hand was not that scared, with having an older brother I had hung out with, the older kids my whole life and they knew me, so on the first day seventh grade I was excited. I got up extra early to get ready and ate a good breakfast, and was ready for this day. But I soon found out there was more than just my brother s friend, in that school. There were the jocks, preps, nerds, and freaks, the normal groups in high schools, and that was something I was not ready for. We did not have groups in our class; we all got along and respected each other, well that was until we got to the high school. I soon found out who my true friends were and who weren t. I stayed close with the girls on the basketball team since we had been playing together our whole life; we protected each other and had each other s back when it came to things in school. I participated in a lot of sports during junior high; I was on the cross country team, basketball, track, tennis, and softball. I was very athletic and outgoing in my school so that helped me fit in with a bunch of different people. I wasn t the type to stick to one group; I liked hanging with everyone no matter what group they were in that didn t matter to me. My parents always taught me not to judge a book by its cover, so I would never judge a kid until I got to know them and know what was really going on in their life. When it was time to be a freshman at Fountain Central High School the class of 2010 had already spent 2 years together in that school, and knew what to expect from the teachers and administration. The groups had been formed and everyone knew who jocks were and who they dated, it was not a new thing. While being a two sport athlete I realized it was hard to concentrate on both sports and on my school work. So at the end of my freshman year I decided to quit basketball and concentrate on softball. Quitting basketball was the hardest thing I have ever done, it had been my dream to play professionally my whole life, but it was time to hang up
Jeffries 6 my jersey and concentrate on a new goal.so for the next three years I played softball year round and worked hard in my studies to get the best grades I possible could, so I could go to school and play softball and get a good education. Even with all of my hard work in high school I still had some setbacks and difficult times. During my freshman year of high school, my best friend Evan died in a car accident driving to baseball practice. He was a friend of my brother s that I knew since I was a little kid, and seeing my brother cry for the first time was probably the toughest day of my life. My whole family was very strong and never showed emotions or cried, but to see my brother cry made me cry. I think Evan s death brought us closer since we had separated since I had been in high school. Another day I will never forget in high school is when my friend Andy died of blood clot and drug overdose, we had played co-ed baseball together since I was six and were still close. So going to his visitation, and funeral changed me forever and showed me that there are more important things in life than drugs, and I know Andy would never want me to get addicted to drugs like he did, so from that day on I promised myself to be a better person for Andy and never do drugs or anything that could hurt my body or jeopardized my goals of getting into a good college. After graduating from high school, I had already made my college decision of going to Manchester College for an undecided major, and I had also got asked to participate in an overseas softball tournament in Italy for a week. After talking to family and friends I decided I would go and participate in this once in a lifetime event. But after losing my best friend s dad just two weeks before I left I considered not going. My best friend s dad was like a second dad to me, he coached me in tee-ball and league softball, and I had spent numerous weekends at his house and would go over there on Sunday morning to have chocolate pancakes with him. His
Jeffries 7 death was the hardest thing I have ever been faced with; I had no one to talk about it. So I kept all of my emotions in and never cried during the visitation or funeral because I didn t want Fuzzy, which was what I called him, to see me cry because I was afraid that it would show signs of weakness, and I wanted him to know I was a strong person. After thinking about what to do I finally decided Fuzzy would want me to go to Italy and show those Italian what American softball players are made of is, what he would always say to me. So after Italy I began to focus on the joys in my life and what makes me the happiest. After coming to Manchester in the fall of 2010, and leaving my family I began to realized that made me be strong and able to live on my own without their guidance and still be able to function as a human being. I came to Manchester because of the great atmosphere that is present as soon as you step on campus; you just feel welcome as soon you get here. People you don t even know say hi to you and make you feel welcomed and that s something I love. The school also makes you feel like an actual person instead of just a number in a class, which was a huge positive. You can have a friendship with your professor s and they know you by name and face. Even though when I came here I had no idea what to do with my life, my advisor set me down and helped me think about stuff, and showed me different programs, and that s when I decided the Adaptive Physical Education Program. I mostly chose it because I have a cousin with learning and mental disabilities, and I know how hard it is for him to interact with other children, and I want to be able to help children with disabilities so they will be able to succeed in life and accomplish their goals. My life has been one of opportunity and diversity from the day I was born. My family and friends have provided me with all the support that I needed to explore all the opportunities that have been in front of me even if I didn t always see them. And Manchester College seems to
Jeffries 8 be no different; they are providing me with a lot of opportunities as well. Through all the opportunities I have been given I have been able to see myself grow in ways I never thought possible. Recognizing and taking advantage of the opportunities I have been giving is probably the most defining thing about my character as a whole.