Kevin and Aykee, Two Voices

Hello Ginn Academy supporters! Thanks for visiting the blog today where you'll get to know a bit about two of our young men through their writing.

Ginn Academy Junior, Kevin, is one of our unsung heroes, a quiet young man who leads by example and whose attitude, work ethic, and consistency have already marked him as a true Ginn Man. "The best is yet to come for Kevin," says Mrs. Hazel Parker, GA's Executive Assistant to the Director.

Though he was not initially enthusiastic about attending an all-male school, he's now in his third year, active in athletics, and has settled in very well. Coach Ginn has been a thought-provoking influence especially on the subject of friends. "A couple of years ago, he knew who I was friends with and he told me if I kept hanging out with the same kids, I could be in for a rude awakening," Kevin explains. "Eventually, one of them took something from me and I saw how Coach Ginn was right." He has found a role model in Mr. Ginn and sees him as someone who cares, and is at school every day, always talking and coaching the boys.

Life Struggles

by Kevin A.

My biggest struggle in life is trying to survive.
I try so hard not to get shot or to never get robbed.

I stay to myself and never get loud.
You'll see me by myself, before I'm with a crowd.

My family is my life, my mom is my heart,
I pray that the lord never break us apart.

My grandparents will never let me down. 

Life struggles are crazy they seem to stress me out. 

But now I know why my mom keeps me in the house.

We criminals of today, victims of tomorrow.
Life is not promised to please keep the sorrow.

Live your life now and sleep when you die.
I hope that my soul will some day fly,
up to the sky with my father Jesus Christ.

But you can't always win so I guess that's life.

Our second contributor, Aykee, is a senior this year and has really matured in the time that he's been with us. He's looking at colleges and is nearly ready to set out on his own. Raised by his mother and grandparents, Aykee is a busy student-athlete with close family ties. "My grandmother is always in my ear about being positive and grateful and giving back," he says. The family talks a lot about right and wrong and Aykee says that it's not his way to get involved with bad things, but he does admit that watching friends making bad choices is difficult. "There's sometimes nothing I can do and it's hard to turn away," he says.

Aykee's English teacher, Mrs. Beard-Little, asked his class to write an essay beginning with the prompt, "No one would believe me when..." In his, Aykee addresses some of the issues that he faces at this point in his life, where expectations and fears lead to very different perspectives between adults and teens.

No one would believe me when...

by Aykee H.

I would tell people who I was and how I was growing up...
but no one would believe me.

I would tell people why I behave the way I behave...but no one would believe me.

If I told a group of white men in suits that I want to be someone in life...no one would believe me.

I always have told my coaches that they could trust me with the ball when the game was on the line; but once again...no one would believe me.

I even tried telling my mom and grandma...but no one would believe me.

I went to school today, telling my class that I would earn a 3.5 the second quarter...but no one would believe me.

The crazy part about the topic "No one would believe me when..." is that if I were to do all of the following negative things in life, for example, drinking, smoking, selling drugs, and misbehaving -- what I am trying to say is -- let me be that individual to say that I was smoking and/or drinking. My mom, coaches, and friends would come to me saying -- or accusing me of those things; 

however, six sentences ago, no one would believe me.