Freshman Pushes Her Limits at UNC

By Jermaine Caldwell

Being smacked against a tree in a Dodge Neon and facing life-altering injuries has changed S.J. Barrie-Chapman's outlook on life.

In her sophomore year in high school in Wilmette, Ill., Barrie-Chapman was in a car with four friends when the driver lost control of the car and it wrapped around a tree.

After she suffered broken arms, legs and hips - other passengers sustained injuries ranging from brain damage to paralyzation - Barrie-Chapman knew that life after the accident had to be on her own terms.

"The car accident really forced me to grow up," she said.

"That's what makes me look at life and say, `Everyone has limitations. What are mine?'" she said. "I pushed myself to find mine."

And so here she stands.

S.J. - a UNC freshman who's assimilating into University life, giving in to Southern ways, putting off her class work, keeping up with her family and holding down a job.

And while she says she's laying low, she's searching for more.

But first things first: her grades and workload.

While Barrie-Chapman had the intentions of earning a 4.0 during her first semester, now great grades don't seem to be topping her list of goals. But final exams and how she prepares for them will be a determining factor in whether she finishes strong.

"I get it all done somehow - not necessarily on a timely schedule," she said.

Barrie-Chapman classifies herself as a procrastinator - she has gained an "if it's not due, it can wait" attitude this semester. "It killed me on (midterms)," she said. "It was cram fiesta."

And she knows that waiting until the last minute won't work for her final exams - not in her African-American history, German, astronomy, psychology and political science classes.

"I'm going to try my best to do really well. I'm trying to get my act together now." Then she rethought things. "I'll probably end up procrastinating and cramming as usual."

One thing Barrie-Chapman is sure of is her major - she chose the advertising sequence in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a German minor.

But for future career aspirations, she's still keeping her options open.

Flight attendant? Maybe. A concierge? Possibly. "I just kind of want to be everything before I die," she said. "But we'll just see."

For now, Barrie-Chapman is working her first job - a hostess at Michael Jordan's 23 restaurant.

And because her parents never put pressure on her to get a job while attending college, they urged her to quit when they found out she took the position. "My parents don't approve, but they're proud of me," she said.

With money flowing in and places to spend cash lurking on the edges of campus, Barrie-Chapman said she's had to restrain herself from excessive spending. "I've tried to keep myself away from Franklin Street," she said.

What lures her there? "Stuff," she said, naming books, office supplies, food and clothes as items she buys.

But when talking about what she loves about the area, it's not just about paper and pens for Barrie-Chapman.

"I love the weather," she said. But she hasn't quite figured out all of the rules of North Carolina winters.

When she returned from Thanksgiving Break to snow and tried to eat at a local restaurant, her attempts failed. "It snowed here, and everything shut down," she said.

Then, fully realizing the difference between Illinois and North Carolina life, she asked, "Can they do that?"

The Southern accents took some getting used to for the freshman. "The `hi' and `bye' get to me," she said, putting a Southern drawl on the greetings. "But I can live with it."

She'll adjust because she is a person who feeds off interactions with others.

Whether it be at a fraternity party or in a bus, Barrie-Chapman said she loves meeting interesting people. "I just love getting on a crowded bus or P2P and getting into debates about the presidential election or something."

All of this is normal to Barrie-Chapman - the flight attendant desire, the office supplies, the conversations.

Normal.

It's her family, she says, that's "quirky."

Barrie-Chapman recalled times when she and her father would wake up to watch the sunrise at Dunkin' Donuts or how he's good at giving advice. "My dad's my role model," she said. "He's not even like brilliant, he's all-knowing."

She said her mother is a bona fide people person.

And it shows when, about every month, her mother invites 20 or so guests to get decked out in their finest to congregate and mingle. The parties all are themed with conversation topics.

Barrie-Chapman, at times, has taken on the role of butler at these functions, filling her need for interaction as well.

Growing up, her parents wouldn't allow their children to watch more than an hour of television per week. And with two older brothers, the only glimpses of TV she got were bits of "Sesame Street," "G.I. Joe" and "He-Man."

So now it's all about soaking up as much as she can about life. "I love learning about pop culture," she said. "It was a pretty big thing for me to get into the election." But it is more than evolving from Elmo to the Electoral College for Barrie-Chapman.

It is soaking up everything she can: brushing up on her German for her flight across the friendly skies, looking for interesting people but keeping guys on a "perpetual back-burner," renting movies from the area office but racking up delinquency offenses and working just for the experience .

Everything. But when and how she wants to do it.

She said, "For now, I'm just seeing what happens. Scoping everything out."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.