Photo and story by Madysin Bratton

When Jaylyn Sutton was just a child, she and her family would go visit her Aunt Bunny in the hospital. Sutton used to read to Aunt Bunny, who had a very severe cancer. Before leaving the hospital everyday, Sutton told her aunt she loved her. Sutton and her aunt had an amazing relationship with each other,  much like best friends. On Feb. 12, 2009, Sutton didn’t visit her aunt. Later on that day, her aunt her passed away. Sutton and her aunt were very close.

“It’s amazing how things are taken for granted,” says Sutton. Something can be gone within the blink of an eye. Every since then, life was not so painless for Sutton and her family.

Sutton was born and raised in a quiet neighborhood in Jackson, Miss. Now 16 years old, she attends the “best high school ever invented,” Murrah High School. Sutton will be an 11th-grader this fall, where she holds a position in the National Honor Society (NHS) as a student leader. Murrah currently has over 200 students inducted in NHS. Sutton is also one of the 16 members in her school’s glee club.

Sutton also likes to knit and crochet as hobbies In Sutton’s spare time, she enjoys spending quality time with her friends and family. If she had the option to go anywhere in the world, she would go to a state that’s not often talked about here, like Vermont. The farthest Sutton has ever been from home was Illinois for a family vacation.

“I really want to go everywhere, besides Jackson,” Sutton says.

Sutton believes everyone should take a risk at some point in their lives.

“You only live once,” says Sutton.

In Sutton’s opinion, she has a unique attitude and is more open-minded than others. She’s very intelligent and well-educated. When she grows up she wants to pursue a career in the medical field. She wants to achieve this by having great determination and support from her loved ones.

Sutton eventually hopes to have more law enforcement in her community, and find a way to help others around her environment, rather than people handling issues by themselves. Sutton wants to accomplish success in the Youth Media Project this summer by being consistent and accepting differences.