When thinking about people who cross the line or push the limits, usually a specific person comes to mind. It could be a friend, a celebrity, a sibling or maybe yourself. They are the people who won’t let the rules stop them from having their own adventure.
University of Oklahoma communications student Jenny Nuñez's friends say she doesn't follow trends, but sets them. One day, she got a tattoo that says, “mischief managed.”
“I’m a big Harry Potter fan and so there’s this map called the Marauders map,” Nuñez said. "In order to use the map you have to say ‘I solemnly swear I’m up to no good’ and it opens it up.”
She explained that in order to close the map, Harry Potter has to say, “mischief managed.” Although she is a big Harry Potter fan, there is a deeper meaning behind her tattoo.
“I will usually say I’m kind of a combination of both words mischief and managed,” Nuñez said. “The reason I incorporated mischief though is because if there is a set of guidelines, rules, procedures I will be that person that will stretch, I will stretch them and go the farthest without breaking them but I will deviate pretty far and just do it my way."
Nuñez is the youngest of six children, and thinks that gave her more freedom than her peers from smaller families. She remembers digging up holes in the backyard, wearing overalls and having a chili bowl haircut. Looking back, she said her childhood didn’t seem very traditional and certainly not very lady-like.
“I had a lot of freedom and whole lot of flexibility to break the rules and still get away with it,” Nuñez said. “I think that I grew up being that managed side of mischievous, being this almost good mischievous type of person.”
Following convention is not something Nuñez typically does. From running with boys, to competing in cross-country tournaments in cheap running shoes, she says prefers to start with the hard tasks first.
“Leadership on campus is where I’ve done it backwards,” She said. “I started and went hard and I did those really strenuous leadership positions and really hard and difficult office positions and exec positions and different things and even classes, I took some of the hardest classes at the beginning”
Nuñez says with her mischief managed, she moves through life always looking forward to the next challenge. She says her favorite quote by Dr. Seuss, sums up her philosophy.
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells,” Nuñez said. “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”
Nuñez says her plans constantly change. She hasn’t decided what she’s doing when she grows up. But she says she understands she will never fully grow up, she’s ready to explore and see what life has in store.
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