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A spirit that is not afraid

Celebrity Students Share Experiences With Fame

The lifestyle of the rich and famous may be unfamiliar to the majority of Auburn students, but for two, it's not so foreign.

Morgan Jackson, sophomore in communication disorders, is the daughter of famed Auburn athlete, Bo Jackson.

Shaina Freeman, senior in human development and family studies with a concentration in childhood adolescents, was "Shaina" on the '90s hit kid's TV show, Gullah Gullah Island.

Auburn is a far cry from the upscale Chicago area where Jackson calls home, but she says she thinks Auburn is a great place, nonetheless.

"I think it's funny because people are always staring and saying 'Oh my god, Bo,'" Jackson said. "Some people get a little crazy. My brother and I just sit back and laugh."

Jackson recalled her childhood, traveling with her father during his days in the MLB playing with the Royals while being catered to in the skyboxes and pampered at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Jackson said she would not give her life experiences up for anything.

Some of them were meeting her childhood idols Bow Wow and Michael Jordan (she said her mother still maintains a close relationship with Jordan's wife, Juanita).

Being star struck by meeting Lebron James on a hotel elevator, or living a more tamed version of the "lifestyle of the rich and famous," she said she wouldn't give it up for anything because her parents have kept her grounded.

"My dad is a country boy, and my mom's from Mobile," Jackson said. "They're old fashioned. They wanted us to have values."

Jackson described her father as a funny and silly guy who shows tough love. She said she does not see him in the way most people do when they go crazy over him.

One advantage she gets for being the offspring of one of the most famous men in football is the perks.

Because of her father's "Bo Knows" deal with Nike, she said she could call the company and basically get anything she wanted. She also said when she has gotten parking tickets, she was let off the hook.

When she first came to Auburn, she didn't tell anyone Bo was her father.

"I remember when I first got here and no one knew who I was," Jackson said. "As soon as they found out, I had like a thousand text messages and 5,000 phone calls. It was literally an overnight thing."

Freeman said she also came to Auburn without anyone knowing who she was, but friends from her high school told and everyone found out.

When she was younger, parents used to make her sing songs and recite lines from Gullah Gullah Island.

"I was with my mom and we went to the mall, and all these children were running and saying my name," Freeman said, "and I was like 'how do they know my name?' I didn't understand at all. A lot of times, parents would see me and no matter what I was doing, they wanted me to sing to their child--like a jukebox. I was always under pressure to perform."

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Freeman got her role on the TV show at 4 years old and maintained it until she was 8.

She recalled being worked way over the legal limit for a child.

She would wake up at 5 a.m. for work and wouldn't arrive home until 7 p.m.

Unlike some people who were famous when they were young, Freeman managed to surpass the "child star curse." She quit the show at 8 years old to pursue what she called "a normal childhood."

"You're not in a bad environment," Freeman said. "Every child got their own talent assistant to make sure they're happy. Whatever they wanted, they had to go out to get it. This industry is better suited for someone who has already lived life. By the time you're 4, you don't have time to live life. It's like an illusion, a distorted version of what the world is."

Freeman said her favorite co-star on the show was Philip Garcia, the guy inside the Binyah Binyah suit.

She said she was good friends with Keenan and Kel, who used to fly to Florida to visit her.

She said the most exciting part of being famous were the perks she got for working for Nickelodeon.

"The backyard of the studio where we filmed was the theme park," Freeman said. "I got to cut all the lines and got to attend all the events. While most kids were at recess, I was at Universal Studios."

One disadvantage was only being able to see her parents on the weekends.She lived with her grandmother while she worked during the week.

Although she doesn't watch the show much today, she said she does appreciate her fans and their support.

"It makes me happy because I do get a lot of letters, especially from girls a little older than me," Freeman said. "I think that's sweet."

Her plan for the future is to become a family lawyer.

"Everyone has always said I have a big mouth," Freeman said. "And I'm stubborn and I argue all the time. The main goal in life is to do what everyone else gets to do go to school, dance, be social. I've always wanted what everyone else had, to be considered average."


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