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By Zeakyy Harrington
Kenytta Brown, 16, is a rising junior at Lanier High School. Brown was born on Aug. 17, 1999, in Jackson, Miss., where he has one older brother, Quin Coleman. Some of his favorite hobbies include playing soccer, tennis, video games and most importantly, sleeping.
“I get mad a lot…(so) I like (to) dream,” Brown said. “(Dreams) take me away from the real world, and when I sleep a lot, I dream a lot.”
Brown’s personality is very chill but can be hyper when necessary. He mentioned one of his greatest challenges was when he was in elementary school and was bullied for his height, the way he looked and how his style differed from that of his peers. Brown’s favorite colors are purple and pink.
His mom gave him some words of wisdom when he was in seventh grade that helped him overcome being bullied. “Just be who you are, and the only person who can change you is you,” she told him.
While attending Lanier High School, Brown plays on the school soccer team, tennis team, and is a part of the mentoring program, Teen Trendsetters, that allows him and other Lanier students to mentor younger children and teach them how to read. Brown’s favorite thing about Lanier is his school’s pride and spirit that the students all have. He also said he loves how close the students are and how cool the teachers are.
Outside school, Brown does a lot of training, studying and reading. One thing he says he wants to do is become a sports therapist or a professional soccer player. He says he loves soccer, but if he doesn’t make it into the major leagues, he wants to help other players who have issues.“I’m always getting injured, so if I help somebody who’s hurt too, that will make me feel better,” Brown said.
An unusual fact? As a younger child, he hated ice cream. “I hated cold stuff, and it was too cold for my mouth,” Brown said.
Brown said he loves Jackson’s culture. “Everyone is so close, and music is such a big part of how we communicate,” he said.
One thing he says he doesn’t like about Jackson is its crime and bad reputation from other places. He believes Jackson needs to improve the city’s infrastructure and have more fun things for everyone to do.
While at the Youth Media Project, he hopes to improve on his technical skills, people skills and writing. His favorite thing about YMP is the people he works with every day and says that it has been the highlight of his summer.
