Joshua Harmon was dealing with anger issues for much of his childhood, but decided to make changes after having a talk with himself in the middle of his junior year in high school.
Harmon, currently a senior at Coahoma County High School, was at home alone in his room in the town of Coahoma when he had the talk.
“I realized, ‘Joshua, you’re about to be a senior and you can’t keep doing this,’” Harmon said.
“I think the best conversations you will ever have are with yourself. After I had that talk with myself, I made it on to 12th grade and am just fine.”
Just weeks before graduating high school, Harmon is telling his story to others.
“The main reason I’m mainly talking about this is because you do have the power to change and do better for yourself and go ahead and get to where I am,” Harmon said.
“I feel like once you sit down and you psychologically analyze yourself and you get an understanding of yourself and other people, it brings you some type of peace and things of that nature.”
Harmon said it would upset him when teachers yelled at him and his anger showed. He acknowledged, in some cases, he could have a bad rapport with someone because the individuals were not comfortable with one another. He would be suspended from school for a couple of days when he engaged in behavior that came from anger.
Fortunately for Harmon, his grades did not suffer as his overall GPA is around 3.0, but he still had disciplinary issues. His issues never went past getting angry.
“I’ve never cussed a teacher out,” Harmon said. “I’ve never been into a fight, not once, ever since elementary Head Start.”
But he knew there were two sides to every story.
“I can admit I was wrong a lot, too, but I think a lot of people are like this,” Harmon said. “It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.”
In Harmon’s final semester at CCHS, he is earning an A in every class except for one where he has a B. He was aiming for the superintendent’s list.
Harmon said classmates and many others have seen the changes in him. He reflected on one friend who asked how he changed after seeing an altercation that almost took place between him and another peer.
“He heard about the way I handled the situation,” Harmon said. “I didn’t respond. I didn’t get upset or angry. He said, ‘If that was the old Joshua, you would have been in made trouble right now.’”
Harmon said hearing things like that from others keeps him going.
Harmon has come up with several different anger management methods that help him when he is in class.
“Now, I would just stand in the hall, just walk around a little bit,” Harmon said.
Harmon said no teacher told him he could walk in the hall when he gets angry, but he just took it upon himself to use that method because it calms him down. His counselor in school in encouraged him to walk in the hall.
“She said, ‘If you’re feeling upset, Joshua, go stand in the hall,’” Harmon said. “It really does work.”
Harmon, 18, attended Lyon Elementary School, has been an artist since he was a little boy just like his brother, Jeremiah, 23, and sister, Kashara, 22.
He draws with markers, pens, pencils and other materials. His brother also draws and his sister is a nail artist. Jeremiah has a son, Jayden, and Kashars has a daughter, Arianna.
Harmon said he hopes to continue staying on a positive path setting an example for his niece and nephew.
One of his drawings is of the Arthur cartoon and another is his teacher, LaShunda Humphreys, who had breast cancer. The drawing has the tattoo “fight like a girl.”
Harmon is currently enrolled in Jennifer Ruskey’s art class at CCHS.
Brittany Holmes, a PE and health teacher, taught Harmon the importance of creativity.
“She taught us how, if you’re feeling some type of way, it’s good to write those things down,” Harmon said. “Like me, I love to write. If you ever feel you’re having a bad day, go and draw, go and write, go and type. It really does help you if you draw or do something creative. It’s an outlet.”
Harmon plans to attend Coahoma Community College next year and focus on animation art.
“I want to create video games and cartoons,” Harmon said.
Harmon plans to move away from Clarksdale both to continue his education and after earning his degree from a four-year school.
After CCC, he would like to attend University of Memphis or Ashford University majoring in psychology. His interest in psychology has already helped with his behavior issues.
“I love to have friends who I can sit down and talk about my most inner-darkest thoughts with,” Harmon said.
“If you can relate to how I feel, it makes me feel awesome.”
Harmon said he worries and sweats when he has anxiety. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and taken doctor prescribed medicine, but it made him feel worse. He said he felt sad like he was trapped inside of a box.
“Sometimes when a person is like that, that doesn’t mean that they’re happy at all,” Harmon said.
Harmon said at times when he is smiling and nice to everyone, he does not feel happy. However, he recognized being nasty would not make him or anyone else feel better.
Harmon does not attend church frequently, but his Christian faith has played a role in turning things around.
“I think the best medicine is, first of all, God,” Harmon said. “A man won’t save me, God will. A church was built by man and a man won’t save me. God will.
“As long as you believe Jesus is the son of God and he died on the cross for us and He shedded blood for us and He rose on the third day, as long as you believe this in your heart, you are saved.
“Thou shalt not judge. Whatever you all may believe in, that’s fine. I don’t judge because I’m not God. I’m not Jesus. I don’t get the say-so what’s going to happen in your life or what’s going to happen to you. He gets the last say-so. It’s about your heart. God looks at your heart.”
Harmon acknowledged people may judge him for the way he used to be, but he does not let that bother him.
“When you see someone’s trying and you’re steadily trying to down them and down talk and do this and that to bring them down, it’s not cool at all,” Harmon said.
“We are all dealing with things within ourselves. The hidden one will always come to tempt you. You just have to keep your faith in God.”
Harmon attended Coahoma Early College High School his freshman year and has been at CCHS the past three years. His principal for two years, Cortney Jackson, has been instrumental in his changes.
“Ms. Jackson is really good principal,” Harmon said. “She really does listen to me and understands me. She’s just seen a lot of improvement as far as my behavior and that type of thing.
“She’s seen a lot of improvement in my attitude. I stayed out of trouble. I got my work done.”
Harmon would like to see his story influence others in a positive manner.
“I really want you all to just do what I did,” Harmon said. “Sit down and have a conversation with yourself. As a wise person once told me, you can’t be angry at the world when you’re not perfect either.
“We’re all dealing with a lot of the same things – anxiety, anger, depression and things of that nature. We can all get through this together. We just have to work together. I love all people. I don’t care if you’re red, purple, blue, green. We can all get through these problems together.”
