Name: Jocelyn Simmons
Year: Junior
Major: Media Communications
Hometown: Lake Wales, FL (home of Florida’s Natural Orange Juice factory)
Relationship Status: Taken (by the best man in the world)
Courtesy: Jocelyn Simmons
Her Campus (HC): Describe yourself in three words.
Jocelyn Simmons (JS): Natural, beautiful and bubbly.
HC: What made you choose to go to Florida State University?
JS: When I stepped onto Florida State’s campus it was all brick and I had a very cliché Cinderella moment. I really felt like I was at home. I felt beautiful here. The brick complimented my skin tone. Everywhere we went everyone seemed happy and the unity was there. There was a nice overarching tradition. It seemed like everything just glowed, as if this is where I should be.
HC: What is your favorite spot on campus?
JS: The Integration Statue. That is where I am recognized, meaning people of my color. Our accomplishments are noted and I simply can’t forget those who made a stand and put their footprints in the dirt, because those footprints paved the way. Those tiny footprints led to a nice pavement.
HC: What organizations are you apart of?
JS: The great Lady Spirithunters, National Society of Collegiate Scholars where I am the Vice President of public relations and recruitment and FSU’s gospel choir where I am a soprano. We’re having a concert on October 16th!
HC: Can you tell me some more about gospel choir?
JS: It is a student organization as well as a music ensemble. We are really like a family simply because you don’t even have to be a Christian to be apart of the group. That just leads to a nice openness and people being accepted. That’s really what anyone is looking for – a place where they are accepted. You come in and tell us about a test you just failed or about how God played a blessing in your life. It’s just that open. I love gospel choir.
HC: Would you consider yourself a leader or a follower?
JS: I am a follower that leads to a leader. I would rather be in the crowd, because sometimes the crowd doesn’t necessarily follow the leader. What really makes the crowd motivated is turning to their left or right to someone who is on the same level as them and someone who is on the same ground and page as them and being energized and motivated by that person. Sometimes you can’t look up at the stage and feel connected, but when you turn to the crowd amongst you, that is where you find your source.
HC: Name something you can’t live without.
JS: Shoes. I can’t live without shoes. Shoes are so amongst my family it’s ridiculous. We use it to express ourselves, our moods at the time and our personalities and motivations. When you are ambitious and you are on a mission, you put on a good pair of heels. How sturdy your soles are is how sturdy your life is.
HC: What is the most exciting thing you have ever done?
JS: Whitewater rafting during the Lady Spirithunters away trip to Wake Forest. We went to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in North Carolina. It was crazy. This guy had us on the raft and was talking to us like we actually new what we were doing. Secret: we didn’t know what we were doing.
HC: What is the key to confidence?
JS: Belief. If you believe in yourself, everyone else believes in you. One secret I learned in high school is that no one knows what they are doing. They just simply pretend. That is because the most confident people are the ones that you think know what is going on. They believe in themselves. That is really all you have to do.
HC: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
JS: Possibly, if it is the Lord’s will, I shall have my own PR firm and I shall be the boss of me and other people who want to get paid with a nice pair of shoes and a power suit.
HC: What is currently your favorite song?
JS: “Hotline Bling” by Drake.
HC: What inspires you?
JS: Life inspires me. Life is a really beautiful thing. It’s up, it’s down, it’s left, it’s right. People experience it in different ways. People give to life in different ways. It’s amazing. You can get everything you need from life itself.
HC: What is something that people would find surprising about you?
JS: I am a huge worrywart. I worry a lot about things that I should not worry about. Worrying makes you go grey. Worrying gives you wrinkles. Worrying starts to hinder the way you experience life and makes it a little bit sadder. You can’t worry about things, especially the things that you can’t change. 75% of life is made up of things that you can’t change.
HC: Instagram or Facebook?
JS: Instagram! Instagram knows that sometimes you’re not at your best and sometimes the pictures that you take, the lighting you are in, or the moments that you want to capture do not showcase the real you. So, sometimes you may need a filter.
HC: Beyoncé or Whitney Houston?
JS: Whitney Houston. She is a classic and naturally beautiful. When it comes to women singing she is epitomized as a form. She is really great. When she sang the Star-Spangled Banner, she killed the whole crowd. Also, she did it in joggers and a sweatband. Can we just talk about that? She didn’t come out in a dress or with her makeup on point. She was just in a white jumpsuit.
HC: Do you have any advice for your fellow college students?
JS: Never settle. The worst insult that you can do to yourself is settle for something that you do not want. When you have a dream, go for it. There is a saying “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” No! Why settle in the stars? Shoot for the moon and continue shooting for the moon until you get to the moon. When you land on the moon you go and shoot for another moon in a different galaxy. Never settle for anything.