THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408190055
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY AISHA DURHAM, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
BULLETS FLY, mothers cry and friends die in Oakleaf Forest, but April Johnson has tuned her ear to sounds unlike those echoed throughout her Norfolk neighborhood.
Armed with a bow in one hand and her large bass violin in the other, April, 17, plays melodies sweet enough to block out the wailing cries of hopelessness coming from her housing project.
Similar wails once came from April's own mouth - wails of a youngster who seemed destined to become one of the many caught in an endless cycle of poverty and crime and violence.
She was in the fifth grade when an orchestra teacher, in an attempt to change April's pessimistic attitude, introduced her to a different world. April had a knack for playing the bass violin. From the start, she loved the instrument, but it took her four years to realize her knack was her key out of the projects.
Disciplinary notes and telephone calls from teachers were routine for April throughout elementary and middle school. She had a bad attitude toward authority figures and was often rude to people who told her what to do.
Tarsha Mitchell, a longtime friend, said April was never really bad, just mouthy.
``April had a very quick temper and she would snap when you said the smallest thing to her,'' Tarsha said, adding that April would argue and fight with anyone who got in her way.
During her freshman year at Lake Taylor High, April found herself sitting in the disciplinary office once again. This time, a fight with a classmate resulted in a five-day suspension. It was a turning point.
``I knew if I didn't change then, I would not have the success I have today,'' April said. She realized that if she wanted to ever leave her environment, her musical talent that would be her ticket out.
``Music,'' April said, ``was all I had.''
With the support of family and friends, April set about changing the direction her life was headed. She started taking her schoolwork and her music more seriously. It took only one year before teachers began commenting on her new attitude and her ever-increasing musical ability. She became so proficient that she was asked to join Strolling Strings, a touring orchestra for advanced musicians. Musical success lifted her self-esteem.
Successful now in music and academics, April is a role model to other members of her family. Her 16-year-old sister, Ravarner, also a student at Lake Taylor, says she wants to follow in April's footsteps. The two play the bass together and compete academically. Ravarner openly admits to feeling sibling rivalry, but says it pushes her to do her best.
April is also a role model to the disoriented children roaming aimlessly in her community streets without dreams or aspirations. In her work as a tutor, April found the patience to deal with children that others thought were incorrigible.
``I will never forget this 5-year-old girl,'' April said as she shook her head and laughed. ``She was beyond bad. . . . She reminded me of myself, but in the end I taught her how to write.''
It was because of that little girl and others like her that April discovered an interest in not just music, but teaching. Her goal after graduating from Lake Taylor High is to attend college so that she can pursue a career as an early childhood educator. Her reason: ``I want to give back to my community that has given so much to me.''
And for all of the people who had written her off as just another bad kid going nowhere, April announced, ``I'll give 'em one of my graduation invitations and tell them I've beaten the odds.'' MEMO: Aisha Durham wrote this story as part of the newspapers' 8th Annual
Minority Journalism Workshop. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Aisha Durham is a student at Lake Taylor High School.
by CNB