NaKaya’s Timeline by NaKaya Hughes

Birth-Childhood

nhughes1_19 — 2025-05-23 22:19:10 UTC

I was born in Chicago, IL and was not there for long. My parents like to tell me that I was there for about three weeks. My family then moved to Charleston, IL where my brother was born and which I ended up doing preschool there, and finally would move to my hometown Champaign, IL for Kindergarten and on. I loved making friends wherever I went and would build friendships for the time being. During these times I learned that I loved being there for people and helping them in life.

Middle School Life

nhughes1_19 — 2025-05-23 22:19:22 UTC

During this time my parents were going through a divorce, which for me was a key event for me because it was an heavy transition for me and my brother. Also I was learning about myself and my mental health. This was during a time for where I was I learned that I was dealing with depression and suicidal ideation (however later down the line I learn that there is more to my mental health). But during these times I still loved to help people and was slowly learning the career path that I wanted to go on, which was to be a lawyer. I was big into crime shows thanks to my grandmother and loved to argue and fight for those who can’t speak for themselves.

High School Life

nhughes1_19 — 2025-05-23 22:19:33 UTC

All my life I went to a public school, however, when it came time to high school I ended up having to leave my friends and go to our local private high school. This was where a lot of my self confidence and sense of self was slowly losing me. I dealt with a lot of racism and small incidents of teasing from classmates. It was hard to be around these students because they would complain about the stuff that they had and how it wasn’t enough for them. Compared to me who was living in a two bedroom apartment with a single mom and my brother having to sleep on the couch. So it was a lot of emotional spirals that would happen sometimes at school or mainly at home. But still during these years I still wanted to become a lawyer and fight for those who looked like me and protect people.

College/Young Adulthood

nhughes1_19 — 2025-05-23 22:19:45 UTC

The reason why I picked this picture was because I used to play college basketball until I had to medically retire due to my knees. Before doing that I still had the mindset of going to law school, playing in the WNBA or overseas, traveling, etc. I felt like that was all possible at the time. However everything that was going on with my physical and mental health was taking a toll on me. I had to do something for me for once in my life. Which was medically retiring from the sport that I’ve been playing for years and putting some of my career paths on pause. Stepping away made me do A LOT of what I TRULY am wanting to do for myself and my career for the next few years.

College/Young Adulthood pt2.

nhughes1_19 — 2025-05-23 22:20:04 UTC

So from my junior year to senior year, I was doing a lot of thinking. My counselor mentioned with a lot of the conversation we had she could really see that I loved helping people and having a connection with the community. She thought I would be great as a social worker and should go to grad school for an MSW back at home. I would end up taking two social work classes for fun and even do my internship at a DCFS office in Springfield, IL I saw what it was like and saw A LOT and did not want to enter into that field. However, I am thankful for that experience and for the caseworkers I got to shadow who were truthful and honest. I still talk to some of them. However, after graduation/my gap year, my mind did a shift on what I truly wanted to do. I had a moment with myself and realized how much I cared for mental health. I was heavily involved in mental health for athletes when I was a student athlete and then after. I did a recap on my past life and realized that when it came to talking with people and being there for them I realized I was always doing a check in with how they were doing. What was going on in their life that they needed help with. Helping them to be self aware. Which this is when I realized that counseling is the field I wanted to go in for my masters.

My Book Bestie

nhughes1_19 — 2025-05-23 22:20:32 UTC

During my time in my gap year after my undergrad I ended up getting back into reading and became a part of an online book club. This is when I met my book bestie Paige! We talked to each other everyday and got to know one another. She shared that she was in grad school at Bradley and that she is currently in the program that I am in now. She sold me on everything and really talked about the pros and cons that she had for the program. Which of course, made me do my own research, meet with people over the phone to talk to me about the program. And now here I am in my second semester in the program!