Applicant #12: Chelsea McCloy

Chelsea McCloy is a 22-year-old from Windsor.

Chelsea's video application:

Chelsea online:

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Chelsea's current situation:

Well, I graduated from the St. Clair College advertising program last year. I was always very involved during my college career as I was an executive member of the Student Representative Council. After graduating, I decided to travel while I am still young and free. I lived in Whistler, BC for about half a year where I worked in a candy shop and enjoyed getting in touch with nature. I returned to Windsor in order to be with my family as we were facing some tough times. As many of you know, finding a job in Windsor is not an easy task, especially in the field I graduated from. I landed an awesome job at another candy shop, Candy Orbit. This isn’t just a candy shop, Candy Orbit has made a huge impact on the community with its many promotions, events, and strong staff with big hearts. I’ve recently returned from a road trip across the United States where I was able to clear my mind, have some fun and meet a lot of cool people. Now that I am refreshed, I would love nothing more than to work hard as the Young & Free Ontario Spokesperson.

Chelsea's blog post:

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin said it herself, oh freedom (freedom), freedom (freedom), yeah freedom! Freedom comes not from your surroundings, your situation, or your responsibilities but internally. Sure, external factors such as no debt, extra money and minimal responsibilities aid in making you feel "free" but I believe that the key to complete freedom is your mind and the choices you make with it. If you constantly worry about and focus on all the negativity in your life, than you will be a prisoner of your own mind and freedom will never reign. Here are some of my personal tips to achieving the satisfying feeling of freedom:

Tip 1: Accept who you are. It has been stressed in many different ways that each and every person is unique with different combinations of strengths, insecurities, differences, beliefs, etc. Skip the whole phase where you focus on nothing but trying to be like somebody else or trying to change something about yourself to make you seem, what you might think be more appealing. Be who you are and promote what you stand for because I believe today’s generation is slowly moving toward embracing differences and admiring those who not only dare to be different, but are naturally that way. Nothing says freedom like being able to express exactly who you are without restricting yourself.

Tip 2: Believe everything will be fine. I used to be a classic "worry wart" and I would be not only jealous of but confused by people who never seemed to have a care in the world but got whatever they wanted. I realized that maybe it's a good strategy and rolling with the punches may be an underestimated cliché. Believing that everything will fall into place, even in hard times shows strength and positivity. It is pointless to fret over the negatives in life, but taking these negatives and turning them into faith allows you to free yourself from the effects of life's hardships.

Tip 3: Don't be afraid to be happy. I always thought that being happy meant having a high profile job and a loving family. As I grew older I realized that these things were not necessarily what I wanted and were not nearly as important as simply being happy. Happiness is achieved in as many different ways as there are people on this planet. I don't see the point in being embarrassed by what makes you happy; if you are a tough motorcycle riding, leather wearing dude and ballet dancing makes you happy, who cares! If working in a candy store as opposed to a white-collar job with an office and a company car makes me happy, then so be it. Happiness is freedom my friends

Chelsea