Four 2017 Clarksdale High School graduates — Nickalus Jones, Yasmine Malone, Vaniccia Dawson and Tyler Yarbrough — recently led a college readiness workshop at their old stomping ground.
All four students, currently sophomores in college, provided CHS students with insight they wished they had before embarking on their current chapter in life.
One thing that stood out to me was the workshop stressed how children growing up in the Delta have stories to tell. Their experiences are valuable and help them gain insight that could have a positive impact on society.
As I listened to these college students show they were wise beyond their years, I started thinking back to my own experiences.
I thought about how my childhood shaped who I am today at age 40 and the effect the Delta has had on me since the first time I stepped foot in this part of the country in 2003.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, mostly in Highland Park, Ill., where my values were not only shaped, but I also gained a perspective I still carry with me today. There was a very high income base in my hometown and children took things for granted no one in Coahoma County ever would.
The life of privilege and opportunity shaped my thought process in many ways.
It was understood all children were supposed to go to college and choose a career that placed them in a good status in the eyes of society.
But I struggled in the classroom for many reasons and barely got by through the end of my freshman year in high school.
My attention span was extremely low and teachers took this to mean I was dumb and a step behind. I was extremely unhappy and depressed for many years because of the environment in the schools and snobbery in the north shore suburbs of Chicago. Teachers took that to mean I could not behave or fit in socially.
It appeared to be a vicious cycle that would never end until I went to boarding school for my final three years of high school.
I did get into college, earned a degree in communications with a focus on journalism and have been working toward my goals for the past almost 16 years.
But who knows what would have become of me if my parents did not have the money to get me out of the public school system and send me to a place where I could succeed?
Knowing the opportunities I had, ironically, has made me a huge advocate for the public school system. It makes me realize how we need to invest all the money and resources possible into our public schools.
Not everyone has the money to go to an expensive private school when things go wrong, particularly in areas such as Coahoma County. That means we need to have programs in place so any problems kids have could be properly identified and corrected, which did not occur in my case.
On the positive side of things, I came from a very success-oriented area and, as a result, have the drive to continue doing whatever it takes to achieve my goals. I have had many setbacks the past 16 years, but every time, those values I learned as a child remind me to get back up and keep going.
I first learned about the Delta by accident.
Eight months after graduating college from Jacksonville (Fla.) University, I was writing for a supermarket paper in Crystal River, Fla., and could not find full-time work. I expanded my search outside of Florida and landed a position in Helena-West Helena, Ark.
I brought my life perspective to the Delta and, hopefully, have used it to make a difference. More than eight years of my professional career have been spent in Delta communities. I have gained a much-needed fresh perspective on life during those eight-plus years.
When you have limited resources, it is very important for everyone to do his or her part to make a community work, whether it is through government, service projects or something else. As a child, I just assumed many things would “get done” and didn’t really think about the process behind the scenes.
As part of a newspaper in a small community, I not only see the process through the inner workings of government, schools and other areas, I am part of the process that makes things work.
I see up close the traditions we have in Clarksdale with the blues, music, tourism and history that have made our community great for decades.
I see hard-working students giving everything they have to earn academic and athletic scholarships to college by making the most of what they have.
I see, by the way we must work together to make things go, how we build unique and unmatched lifetime friendships.
I see how some of us are luckier than others and none of us have the right to take anything we are given for granted.
The Delta and our childhood do create unique stories and perspectives. The youth in our community do have good stories to tell and positive things to contribute to society for decades to come.
Those positive things have come right from their own backyard.
When our children do go off to college, they have every reason to say they are from Clarksdale, Coahoma County and the Delta with pride.
Our community is something to be proud of and we should not lose sight of that reality.
Josh Troy is managing editor of The Clarksdale Press Register. He can be reached by phone by calling 662-627-2201 or emailing jtroy@pressregister.com.
