Chelsey Jackson’s Story
HDFS 2400
Kelsey Pitts
Chelsey Jackson, a twenty two year old senior at the University of Missouri, did not have the best upbringing. She seemed to always be the outsider, not only at school in Columbia, but also in her small hometown of Beaumont, Texas. She was the only child and always longed for a sibling so there could be someone that could possibly understand her. Although she was an outsider, she is described as a very successful person overall in the public eye. Chelsey lost her father at a very young age due to a divorce between him and her mother. This separation really took a toll on her. Chelsey lost communication with her father at an early age, she suffers from being sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend, and her outlet from all the chaos of her life was sports.
Like many children, Chelsey experienced her family being torn apart from her father leaving her and her mother. Chelsey’s father was initially married to her mother. Shortly after Chelsey’s fourth birthday Chelsey’s father abandoned them. Chelsey dreaded for her father to be there for her. Chelsey was a toddler when her father left, but she continued to feel his absence from early childhood all the way through young adulthood. One day Chelsey decided to go try out for her city’s elite track and field team to try to gain her father’s approval. Upon her making the team she sent her father a letter and invited him to one of her track meets. Every meet she ever competed in she always looked into the stands hoping to see that unfamiliar face that was once so familiar to her.
At such a young age Chelsey started having complications with not only her emotional and social life, but also her performance in the classroom. Children within divorced families show poorer adjustment and also are more likely to have problems cognitively and socioemotionally (Santrock, page 180). Chelsey has struggled with keeping up in the