By McKenzie Matthews
“Why do you dress like that? You look like a boy,” exclaimed an older student to a young Ferrari Shakespeare. Shakespeare, then in the fourth grade, had on long, baggy clothes and plaits in her hair. Her classmates always bullied her for her appearance, and while her name sounds like the name of a famous movie star who lives deep in Los Angeles, she is not an actress of any sort.
Shakespeare has many hopes and dreams for her future, but trauma has shaped many of them, as she encountered personal issues in addition to the bullying. These mental battles created a negative impact on her mindset.
At first, Shakespeare saw this as a bad thing, but soon she started to redirect the course of her thoughts. The Jackson, Miss., native decided to see the good side of life and started being hopeful, finally finding a breakthrough. She says she did this by surrounding herself with people she could trust and by not letting the past bother her. “Sometimes you have to keep your head up and let the past be the past,” she says.
Although Shakespeare has endured many trials and tribulations, she still aspires to improve herself. She believes that talking to a trusted adult and writing down her thoughts helped her to cope and endure. “Always tell a trusted adult. I don’t care if it’s very traumatizing,” she advises. “You can’t cope with something or do stuff alone because even if you try to, you’ll start having these weird thoughts, and you’ll probably think something is wrong with you.”
Shakespeare has also started to realize the power of self-care and mental maintenance. Once she started doing things that gave her more peace of mind, she was able to cope more with her mental battles. “Without self-care, your mental health will never be the same. You have to take time out for yourself,” she says. “If you don’t put yourself first, you will start to feel more of a burden on your shoulders.” In recognizing how significant self-care has been for her, she has created a more positive space for herself. She is careful with who she allows around her, blocks anything out that may promote negative effects, and relies primarily on positive vibes and energy to shape her space.
Shakespeare also offers advice on finding mentors to walk with you through pain. “Choose your peers wisely,” she adds. “Make sure that you do a background check on people before you let them in, whether it be friends or family.” By doing these things, Shakespeare has finally broken through her struggles and has set herself free. She currently attends Lanier High School in Jackson as an upcoming sophomore with a 3.6 GPA. On a day of relaxation and self-care, you would normally find Shakespeare reading her books, writing and taking care of her siblings.
Since joining the Youth Media Project for the summer 2024 session, Shakespeare says she has become more responsible, surrounding herself with new people and learning new things everyday. Her goals include securing a spot in the top 10 of her high-school class, raising her GPA and expanding her focus in each of her classes. She dreams of majoring in nursing and minoring in journalism and going into travel nursing once she finishes college.
Although Shakespeare went through much adversity, she has managed to create goals for herself, but she still describes her life as a “mystery” because she never knows what will come to pass. Through it all, she has learned how to use her strength to ignite her breakthrough.
