By Jayden LaCoe || Contributing Writer

First-Year Jayden LaCoe.

I believe everyone feels awkward talking about themselves or explaining stuff they like. After all, our every day lives just come and go. Activities we like become more like habits than hobbies, favorite foods are simply what you look for in the fridge first when you open the doors. So, when asked these things, I pause. So instead of telling you stuff you will inevitably hear in icebreakers, this is me.

Hi. I am Jayden LaCoe. I come from a small little tourist town in northcentral Pennsylvania. I am about 45 minutes from the New York border and only 20 minutes from the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. It’s a gorgeous place to come visit. If you love the outdoors and hiking, I highly recommend it. Even though I enjoy being indoors with a PlayStation controller in my hand, or a sketchbook, I always enjoy heading out there. After all, who doesn’t love a gorgeous photo opportunity?

I have always been a writer. I started writing little songs to sing for my family, which turned into poems, which then became short stories and novels. I grew a passion for creative writing, rather quickly. In the past two years I have been published three times. (Appelley Publishing Rising Stars collection 2019 and 2020, and Mission Contamination, tales from Pennsylvania.) My end-goal is to become a bestselling author. Maybe one day the world inside my mind will become a movie for many to enjoy.

When I first found Franklin and Marshall, I was in the second half of my freshman year. I looked at tons of schools, dreaming about a life at college. Any of the ones I liked campus wise, the major I wanted was missing. Shockingly, not many colleges have a creative writing major. Once I found a college with more advanced academics and a writing major, I knew I had to make the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Lancaster. I visited Franklin and Marshall’s campus for the first time on July 31st, 2018. And, as soon as I stepped on campus, I knew that this is where I wanted to be. My mother explains it as I “fell in love.” I was bouncing up and down, and could not get enough, even from a simple tour. After my campus tour, my tour guide took me to the side and over to the Writer’s House. He had attempted to get a key to show me inside, but since the building was shut down during the summer, he could only let me peek through the window. A small gesture like that sealed the deal for me. I knew that is what I wanted. A place that had a small campus with a community that made me feel welcome, rather than another number or face in the crowd. F&M felt like home, where I am destined to be.

Even with COVID throwing an unbreakable wall in between the senior year, graduation and freshman year of college I’ve daydreamed about since I was a little girl, I’m ready to challenge myself and make the best of what I have. I am beyond excited to make new friends, learn as much as I can, and join clubs (be prepared SAGA and gaming society!) I am ready to take on new experiences (and the world) with new friends, professors, and more by my side.

First-year Jayden LaCoe is a a contributing writer, her email is jlacoe@fandm.edu

By TCR