5      BRONX WEEKLY  July 12, 2020    www.BXTimes.com 
 He was bullied most of his life, dealt with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts and his best friend  
 was murdered, but in the fall, Michael Jones will be attending college.   Courtesy of Michael Jones 
 ‘The Unthinkable’ 
 Teen moves on to higher education 
 BY JASON COHEN 
 He was bullied most of his  
 life, dealt with depression, anxiety  
 and suicidal thoughts and  
 his best friend was murdered,  
 but in the fall, Michael Jones  
 will be attending college. 
 The teen will not only be  
 making  the  leap  to higher education, 
  but traveling across  
 the country to Portland State  
 University to study creative  
 writing. 
 Jones, 19, a Highbridge resident, 
  has come a long way from  
 when he struggled socially and  
 emotionally as a child. 
 “Leaving the Bronx is defi - 
 nitely hard and exciting at the  
 same time,” Jones said. “It’s  
 not the best place. It’s just not  
 for everybody. I wanted to get  
 away as far as possible.” 
 In fact, at the age of 14, his  
 best friend Christopher was  
 gunned down a few blocks  
 from him. 
 “I  couldn’t  sleep  that  
 night,” he recalled. 
 Jones, who lives in WIN  
 supportive housing, grew up in  
 a rough area. He was bullied in  
 elementary and middle school,  
 which caused depression, anxiety, 
  low self esteem and eventually  
 suicidal  thoughts.  He  
 told the Bronx Times he did  
 not care about school or really  
 anything at all. 
 He sought help from teachers  
 and his principals but they  
 brushed him off. The only person  
 who was there for him was  
 his  guidance  counselor,  who  
 allowed him to eat lunch in her  
 offi ce every day. 
 “She was there for me  
 throughout my time in middle  
 school,” Jones recalled. 
 Things improved  in  high  
 school. He left the Bronx and  
 went  to  high  school  in Manhattan  
 at  Jacqueline  Kennedy  
 Onassis High School.  
 After his sophomore year,  
 Jones switched to the Institute  
 of  Collaborative  Education  
 in the city, which he fell  
 in love with. 
 “That  school  defi nitely  
 boosted my perception on the  
 world,” he explained. 
 The  teachers  were  nice,  
 treated him well and it was  
 like  living  in  a  different  
 world. But what impacted  
 him the most was when his  
 patents Johnny and Mozelle  
 sought out help from a therapist. 
 Meeting with a mental  
 health  care  expert  for  the  
 past  year  or  so  and  taking  
 medication has made him  
 feel much better. 
 “I would defi nitely encourage  
 people to go therapy,” he  
 said. “The point of therapy is  
 to really go there and accept  
 the fact that life is hard.” 
 While he doesn’t have the  
 best  relationship  with  his  
 mom,  he  sees  how  hard  she  
 battles her lung disease and  
 knows if she can do that, he  
 can succeed. 
 His father has taught him  
 to be independent because as  
 a young Black man, the world  
 can often be cruel to him. 
 “My parents infl uenced  
 me  with  their  strength  and  
 passion,” Jones said. 
 When he realized he  
 wanted to go to college he set  
 high goals. He applied to and  
 interviewed  with  Harvard,  
 Columbia and Duke. In fact,  
 staff from WIN helped him  
 buy a suit, rent a van and  
 came with him for his interview  
 at Harvard. 
 While it was upsetting to  
 not get in, he still envisions  
 great things for himself on  
 the west coast. He noted he is  
 a bit nervous as he did not get  
 a chance to visit the school  
 due to COVID-19. 
 “As  an  LGBT  person  of  
 color, I am motivated by a  
 lot  to  pursue  my  dreams,”  
 Jones said. “From past experiences, 
  I have encountered  
 like the death of my beloved  
 friend, my mother being diagnosed  
 with a chronic lung  
 disease, my father suffering  
 from  multiple  heart  attacks,  
 and even attempting to give  
 up on my own life, all has really  
 benefi ted  me  in  many  
 ways. Because of these experiences  
 and their learning  
 lessons, because of the people  
 who support me and believe  
 in me, I continue to motivate  
 myself to achieve the unthinkable.” 
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