Makenna Morton

Hey everyone! My name is Makenna Morton and I'm a rising senior studying Communication Studies with a minor in visual strategy from Long Island, New York. I'm the new president of the com advisory board, I work with admissions, and I'm in greek life here at Furman. I'm so beyond excited to be apart of this program and get to know everyone and myself even better!

One of the biggest reasons I decided to go on this MayX was because of the first info session we had. We discussed the main goals of what the program would do for each of us and help us dig deeper into ourselves and discovering what we truly enjoy in life. As I go into my final year of college this upcoming August, I hope this time in Greece will help me grow as a person and help me navigate my future aspirations. I'm also excited to be traveling to the different places in Greece and doing new activities everyday, especially the cooking class in Crete (I love food)! Being in another country is an extraordinary opportunity and I can't wait to learn all about the Greek culture and how they make meaning of life and purpose. As a person who is constantly going and going, this program will help me to pause, take a deep breath, and just appreciate the life around me and I'm excited to do this with my peers!

The class (and leaders) were given an assignment to be completed before the first day of class. Everyone was given an empty cup, and the instructions were to (i) put several things in that cup that help to describe our identities, and (ii) bring that cup to class on the first day, and use it to introduce ourselves to one another. 

The four things I put on my cup are:

1) Cross Bracelet with my Initial - My parents gave me this bracelet for Christmas and not only does it remind me of them everyday, but it reminds me to always stay true to my faith. 

2) A Fortune - Ever since my childhood, I have collected the fortunes from fortune cookies just for fun. I still do it today as it reminds me to stay positive. The one I chose says "To climb the ladder of success, work hard and you'll reach it."

3) A Note - I was very stressed out one day about an exam that I had coming up and one of my best friends saw I wasn't really myself. The morning of my exam I woke up to a note from her that read "Good Luck on your exam you will do great, so proud of you, I love you!" My academics is a large part of my identity but also having a friend that gives me motivation and support makes my everyday better.

4) A Quarter of a 4 of Clubs Card - A few years ago, on a cross country trip, my friends and I were eating at a place where a magician came up to us and did a magic trick. He split the card 4 ways with his signature on it and we all keep it in our wallets to this day. No matter how far we are from each other in college, our friendship is always with us.