Humans of Media Now 2016

"I (remember I) got Defensive Player of the year, in soccer. It was the first time that I ever realized that, hard work actually pays off, and that sometimes practice really sucks, but if you practice really hard you do well in games."

"When I was twelve years old and went to go play on a hockey team, that was probably too good for me to be on, and I was the youngest player on the team. I had this coach, that, every practice, would skate the s*** out of us. He would put a garbage bag on the ice, and tell us, 'If you can't handle it, throw up.' During that season, I really hated that coach, but looking back on it, he's made me the...

"When I was little I would go out to my grandpa’s farm a lot, and one day the creek had overflowed and we had to restore everything that the creek broke, but we had a lot of fun doing it, he made it fun, and that’s just one of my [favorite] memories."

Q: Do you have a favorite memory that really sticks out in general? “When I was younger I went to Jamaica with my family and that was a really good experience and I loved it so that stuck with me a lot.” Q: So what was significant about your trip to Jamaica? “It was really fun, like the beach was amazing it was the first time I’d ever really been out of the country and I liked it a lot.” Q...

“We read this book in eighth grade about this kid who refused not to sing the national anthem. I can’t even remember what the book was called now, but there's this big joke between my friends and I about it. In homeroom one morning, my friend started singing it and me and my other friend, we were laughing like crazy and then we got in trouble so we had to go out in the hallway and then the hom...

“I remember in fifth grade in the cafeteria at school, [my sister] was eating tater tots and started laughing so hard and a tater tot went up her nose like milk would, you know, but it was a tater tot and it got stuck up her nose. It was so funny.”

“I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin Lymphoma at age 14. I had gotten some tests done ’cause I was having some leg pain or whatever, then one day my dad was like, ‘OK Madi, you need to stay overnight in a hospital. Pack a bag.’ And so I did, ya know? That was a Friday and this was, like, Tuesday. I had already gotten a bunch of scans and stuff. My hospital room was right across from the...

"When I was a little kid, I used to always get the best scores on the test, and this one time, this one time; I got the fourth highest out of the class, because I just didn't do so good. But, no one really cared and it made me realize that I didn't have to be the best at anything for people to recognize me and appreciate me."

“I run track and cross country. That’s a sport that you have to have a really good mindset for. When I go through adversity with that- like my sophomore year I had a really good season, but my junior year I did really bad and had to end my season early. It kinda messes up your confidence. But you have to be able to get back up and learn from your mistakes and make the most of it, which is what I...

“Everyone in O’Fallon knew each other their whole life and I was just this random new girl who no one knew. It was really hard for me to make friends, so I’d hide in the bathroom during lunch because no one would talk to me. I just had to learn the hard way not to care about what others thought of me and just be myself. I couldn’t chase people to be my friend or be someone I wasn’t.”

“I run my own business so you have to have a lot of confidence in what you’re doing and take a huge leap of faith. I knew at the core that I wanted to start my own business someday. I didn’t know how or when. I think when I did that it really changed my strength and independence. You figure out how to rely on your own- you know, your inner strength. How to manage your business, clients, graphic...

“[Divorce] is tough on the kids but not like it ruins you. You learn from it and learn who your family is.”

"I am a part of the Venture Scouts, which is like Boy Scouts, but it's co-ed, so it allows girls to do all the cool stuff that guys do in Boy Scouts, but girls don't get to do in Girl Scouts, for some reason. Last summer, I went to Japan for the World Scout Jamboree, which was a big gathering of 40,000 scouts from all over the world. I don't necessarily agree with all the morals of scouting, but I...