“Herro?” was the word that Chelsea spoke when she answered the phone said Justin, Chelsea’s older sister. Ever since Chelsea was young, from ages 3-15, she had her own unique language. Chelsea grew up as being the leader, not follower of the group. From a young age Chelsea was artistic, and compassionate of the things she did.
Born on September 22nd, 1988, to Jill and Sam Helm, she was very much loved by her parents for she was the youngest child in the family. She has an older sister, Justin. The age difference between Chelsea and her sister is 15 years, a big difference. Chelsea also has a pet golden retriever named Asti, and a cat named Buddy. Chelsea definitely had an awesome childhood, where she had loving parents, an older sister, Justin, and friends like Kristina Banamo.
From childhood, Chelsea “loved to have an art center”, said Justin. Chelsea was perfectly fine being by herself and doing things on her own. When she was with a group of friends, Chelsea was the organizer and the coordinator of the group. “I am obsessive about keeping everything organized”, said Chelsea.
Even though Chelsea likes to keep everything neat and in order, she is “easy-going and fun”, said Kristina Banamo (Chelsea’s roommate). Her personality is what draws people to like her and to be comfortable around her. When speaking of Chelsea’s relationship with her family, her sister described the relationship, “When Chelsea was young, we got very close, we never fight, we are even closer, and it’s almost as if she is following in my footstep.”
Raised in both Roanoke and Richmond, Virginia, Chelsea had to move back and forth from Richmond to Roanoke. “My dad owns a company in Roanoke so he could not move with us. My mom and I had an apartment in Richmond, but we drove home every Friday night to spend the weekend with my dad. Then on Sunday nights we drove back to Richmond so my mom could go to work on Monday,” described Chelsea of the situation.
After graduating from high school, Chelsea is now a full time student at Virginia Tech. She is rooming with her close friend from high school Kristina. Chelsea has been a huge fan of the Hokies ever since she was young.
Her mother, Jill, is an alumni of Virginia Tech, and Chelsea always wanted to come to Virginia Tech. Chelsea is huge fan of Hokie sports and loves to cheer for Virginia Tech. “My biggest accomplishment is getting into Virginia Tech. It was my number one school and I worked hard all through high school to be able to go here,” said Chelsea.
Currently, Chelsea’s major is University Studies, but she will change her major to Building Construction. One day Chelsea hopes to run her father’s construction company. She hopes to follow in her father’s footstep after graduation. When speaking of her relationship with her father Chelsea described the relationship as, “I’m a daddy’s girl”. Even though Chelsea is a diligent person, she has fun too, with many of her friends and family.
Looking back from childhood till now, Chelsea likes to spend her time with friends, just hanging out. During senior year in high school the place to spend quality time with friends and just to relax was at her boyfriend’s barn. “It has a pool table, couches, and everything you need to have a party”, said Chelsea of the “local hangout”. Chelsea described that sometimes she and her friends would throw a party with “a couple hundred people”. On every Sunday Chelsea hung out at the barn and called it “B.P. Sundays” which means “Barn Party Sundays”.
Not just spending most of her time with friends, Chelsea spends much quality time with her family members as well. Shopping, traveling, making scrapbooks, and “making fun of family members” are some of the activities that Chelsea and her sister Justin loves to do together.
The relationship between Chelsea and her Mother is extremely close. Chelsea said, “Even though we are a lot different, we are more so friends than anything else”. Chelsea’s mother was never strict on Chelsea when she was growing up. Chelsea’s mother was honest with Chelsea and never tried to shield her from anything.
What I observed from interviewing Chelsea is that Chelsea is surrounded by people that love her and that has been a factor in determining how Chelsea is today. She loves to be around her friends, even now; Chelsea is planning to take a trip with her friends to Cancun, Mexico for spring break.
When asked Chelsea if she had any accidents that have impacted her life. She told me, about a month from the beginning of the her freshman year at Virginia Tech. She got hit by a “72 Cadillac” that was being towed away. She had to go to the emergency room because all of her friends thought her leg was broken.
However, the leg wasn’t broken but turned out to be a contusion. “I had crutched for a few days and limped for like two weeks and I still have a pocket of blood in my leg which will take about another month to go away”, said Chelsea. Even despite getting hit by a car, Chelsea was in good spirits and wasn’t freaked out about the whole accident, when her friends were all shocked and worried.
One would think that being the leader and organizer of a group will be straight forward and plain, but Chelsea has a weakness. Chelsea isn’t good at saying “no” to people. She really likes to keep everyone happy and content. “I’ll tell people I can do something, even if I am really busy, and can’t do it”, said Chelsea when asked about her weakness to say “no”. The kind heart and the unselfish traits that Chelsea has is another reason why Chelsea is loved by others.
All in all Chelsea is surrounded by people that love her from her childhood till now. Her family and friends are a big source and factor for what makes Chelsea who she is today.
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