Emma is a 22 year old university student, originally from the suburbs of Dallas, Texas.
Emma lives in a campus-area high rise apartment building with her best friend whom she met through her Greek organization. Though she still keeps in touch with her sorority sisters, she is less active and her network is now smaller but more diverse. One of Emma's favorite things about school is her apartment building where there "always seems to be something going on." Somedays, Emma gets annoyed by some of her louder neighbors, but she says she wouldn't move if she had the opportunity.
Emma's daily concerns are schoolwork, money, and balancing an ever-expanding social calendar. In her senior year, Emma is wrapping up a degree in economics, but doesn't know what she will do after graduation. When Emma was younger, she wanted to be a news reporter or anchor. She became interested in economics, in part, because of their respected presence on television news. "I don't really know what I want to do now, though," she says.
Though she worries about getting a good job after school, she is mostly concerned with making her senior year, "The most awesome it can possibly be." Emma clearly has early stage, "senioritis" and can't wait to go to Miami for spring break with her friends. She quips, "It'll all be over by then!" Emma talks a lot about splitting up with her friends after school, a major concern for her. She already know that one good friend is moving back to Boston to be closer to her family.
Emma is often concerned about money. Despite growing up in an affluent suburn, her family does not have a particularly great deal of money, and she is hesitant to ask her parents (no in their early sixties) for any more help. Up until her senior year, Emma had worked in various retail jobs, including a stint as a waitress at a campus restaurant. "After a while, I started hating to waitress. I hated counting money at the end of my shifts. I hated seeing my friends come in and hang out." This is odd considering Emma's choice of school concentrations.
Emma's favorite things to do are to hang out with her friends - watching TV, listening to music, and messing around online. Her favorite TV shows are The New Girl, Modern Family, and The Walking Dead. Although she likes music, she's hesitant to say she has any favorite songs or bands. "Mostly stuff on the radio," she admits.
Emma thinks she is social, but more shy than her friends around her. Some of them are "crazy" and often she let's them "entertain" her. Her best friends are a major influence on her, more than her parents, teachers, or other peers. Emma uses Facebook and Instagram, but she is frustrated that people always have the same pictures on each of the networks. Emma hears constantly about her friends happenings with the guys in their lives. Emma is reluctant to talk about her relationships with guys, but offers that she is not concerned with looking for anything serious at the moment.
Emma is also an avid runner (she ran throughout high school), and does her best thinking during a job with her headphones on. She also wants to avoid the "senior fifteen," which she jests has claimed a few of her friends as they partied and feasted their way through winter break. Someday, Emma hopes to compete in a major marathon or even a triathlon. Emma's world moves at breakneck pace, and running gives her a chance to get settled and collect herself.
Emma dresses "according to her mood," and tries to look good for classes but doesn't always have time to pick out the perfect outfit. She wishes that she had more choices when it comes to clothing, but she doesn't have the money to buy new things all the time. "I get tired of stuff easily, I guess." Her and her roommate now have a "don't even have to ask" clothes-sharing policy, although that doesn't always work peacefully.
Ultimately, Emma is concerned with making every day count. Wanting to experience as much as she can this year, she's made it a point to "do different things," though she calls challenge with all her existing social obligations. Her deepest fear is looking back on her experience in school with a feeling of regret.
