It's Not All in a Name

It's Not All in a Name

This passage comes from an editorial written by Lakesha Parker for The Nubian Message, North Carolina State University's African-American student newspaper, which was first published on November 30, 1992.

In this article, Parker does not explicitly address racial issues, however her writing contains a number of common themes evident throughout the Message's history. For example, Parker draws from personal experiences to emphasize the need for perserverance in the face of difficult circumstances. Moreover, Parker openly cites religion as an important source of her perserverence.

Lakesha Parker, Opinions Editor

Lakesha Parker, "It's Not All in a Name," Nubian Message 7, no. 18 (April 6, 2000), 7. Digitized by the Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

2000-04-06

Madison W. Cates

English

document

We need to learn how to make the best of every situation that we find ourselves in. Which means that we need to overcome disappointment if when we graduate and can’t find that top dollar job. Now, I am not speaking of myself, so don’t sit back and say, oh she didn’t cut the grade. I know that when I graduate, which is soon and very soon. I know that I will be able to get almost any job that I set my mind on. I have volunteered, taught, worked, and enhanced my skills while I have been in college. So not only do I have the ability to write, but I can also speak a foreign language, which leads to endless possibilities. (I should say foreign languages, but some of those skills are a little rusty right now.) Which means that by being here in college, I have opened doors for several positions should I wish to enter them in the future. The possibilities are endless.
I would not be able to say this if I had not taken advantage of the opportunities afforded me. And yes, I work at this current time, in a position where I am using my language skills. And when I graduate, I will probably continue in this position until I begin my teaching career and finalize my plans on opening my own business.
Every situation in which we find ourselves in in [sic.] life is a stepping stone. We just have to learn which way to step once we get on the stone.
You may be on a stone now which you think is blocking you from where you want to go. But you may also be hung up on titles, thinking that you need a particular title so that you can look good at your high school reunion, and before your friends, and most of all before your family. You want to be the best dressed, to have the biggest house, to have the best car, and to have the most money. This is all good and well, but those who have the best of everything had to suffer through a headache or two before they came to have the best. This also means that they did jobs which were our of their field or jobs, which they probably didn’t want to do. But they were able to list some type of experience.
So as we graduate, let’s hope that we have matured a little bit and that we haven’t gotten hung up on name calling. As a friend of mine says, “Start appreciating what you have, instead of complaining about what you don’t.”

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