Before my last jump at nationals to win, I wasn't really like thinking about anything because it was just such a stressful event for me. And I really had to, well I guess, just think about me and the bar. Because I couldn't really think about anything that was going on around me, so compartmentalizing. I started with pole vaulting because I did gymnastics for 10 years, so I had that background. And my mom heard that a lot of ex-gymnasts do pole vaulting, so she kind of got me started with that. The most challenging thing about pole vaulting is the mental aspect because even though like your body can physically do it, sometimes your mind will tell you like, "No, you can't." And you have to like push through that.
I like leading by example because I feel like your actions speak louder than your words. So even when no one's necessarily like following you, you're still leading. I'm Journey Gurley and I'm a senior in the early childhood special education program and I will graduate May of 2022.