2023 Lorain County Toni Morrison Essay Contest for Young People

In honor of Toni Morrison Day, February 18, 2023

This essay contest is organized in an effort to harness the energy, creativity and initiativ of our hometown hero Toni Morrison.

Organized by

African American Community Fund, Community Foundation of Lorain County,

Lorain Historical Society, Lorain Public Library System,

Lorain County Alliance of Black School Educators, Lorain County Urban League,

Lorain County Section of National Council of Negro Women, and Oberlin College

Maybe you are not mature enough to make these decisions on your own. Maybe you aren’t in the wrong, they are. Don’t let other people or other things define who you are. It will weigh you down from flying.

There’s always a way to get through sadness; you just have to find a way out by looking for individual happy memories.

– Christopher

Overall, reality is like one big challenge to overcome. Toni Morrison helped us see this with her quote. She is very important and this is why our school is named after her. So when you make a mistake, always remember that it is natural and you can learn from it.

Do you want to be like other people? I don’t and you should not try to be like other people. You are perfect the way you are.

– Savannah

If I could make the world the way I want it, I would want the pandemic and sicknesses to be gone, the environment to be better, and for more peace in the world.

Chula gave up on all the things that were keeping her from her favorite thing to do. Tomorrow would be the day she changed her way of seeing things. The way she always thought she needed someone by her side the whole ride through. That wasn’t true though, she could do it on her own.

My after school teacher, Ms. Carla says I should look in the mirror everyday and say ‘I am special and I can do anything.’ I think I am going to do that but I am going to add that, ‘I can fly.’ I really do want to fly. I want to do great things.

I have many things in life that have weighed me down. Some of those things are competitive cheerleading and toxic friends. These are one of many things that have weighed me down, and now, I’m slowly learning that if I want to be happier and live my life to the fullest, I need to let some things go.

Even when it feels like God gets rid of that one opportunity that you thought was good for you in your life, he had another door waiting for you that was greater than the rest.

There are times I feel as if I made the wrong choice, but choosing yourself is never the wrong choice.

I came to the conclusion that to move forward and be successful I need to be reliant to myself.

Learning to let go has been hard. Once you do, it is easier to feel at peace and more motivated to keep pushing through.

– Cali

Even before the presence of technology, people were afraid to express their differences because of our primal instinct that causes us to be fearful of the unfamiliar. Morrison understood that this fear fosters assimilation and continues to rob people of opportunities for fulfillment.

As people we are constantly trading our now season for our next, that we don’t stop to reflect the part of our story that make us up as a whole.

I was never taught how to fly. I moved like a mustang through the inner cities, brick by brick, chasing pavement down the concrete boulevard. I moved like a snake through the under bushes of MLK Ave, among the grates of subway cityscapes waiting to get a taste of sun beyond the shadows of those towering around me.

Millions of people are trying to find themselves. With eyes peeled back, and smiles of hope projected across their faces, one after another they trudge through the muck of culture and society searching for meaning. – Maximus

Some people are going to tell you your dream isn’t worth it, but it is, and I believe that it is. – Noah – Cecelia – Cianna – Jacob – Sadie – Abagail – Caitlin

I want to face and embrace who I really am. I am going to change myself for the better so I can fly for real. – Ava – Jason – Victoria – Alena – Makalia “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” TonyMorrison