by Morghan Thompson
The sun blazed relentlessly, the sky a cloudless blue canvas, but it was still a frigid January day. After a long, agonizing school day, Ava Washington, then 15, had been looking forward to the Terry High School basketball game. She went home, kicked off her shoes and hopped in the shower to get ready.
After getting dressed, Washington waited for her mom to take her to the game. She glanced over at the dining-room table and noticed her mom’s camera. She had stared at it before, wondering what she could accomplish with it, but it was never more than just a quick thought. The camera’s glass eye stared blankly ahead, reflecting the room’s muted light. Washington began to stare back anxiously. She heard her mom’s car horn honk outside, letting her know it was time to go. She then picked up the camera and was on her way.
“I thought it would be fun to take along with me,” Washington says now.
‘It Brought Everything to Life’
At the game, Washington met up with her friends; they cheered and watched the players run up and down the court, sweat dripping from their biceps as they tried to make steals and score baskets. Washington looked down at the camera she had brought and decided it was the perfect moment to capture these memories. She faced the court and began to click. The device clicked softly as it captured a fleeting moment, freezing it in time. She then looked at the photograph she had just taken.
“It was so lively and bright. It brought everything to life,” she says. “Since then, I haven’t put it down.”
Washington began going to all the games and taking more and more pictures. Players even started asking if she would mind photographing them during the games. Bliss began to fill her body as she realized she could accomplish something as amazing as photography.
That summer, Washington spoke to her mom about becoming more serious about photography, and later her mother introduced her to the Mississippi Youth Media Project. Since her first year at YMP in summer 2024, Washington has been writing stories and snapping pictures for jxnpulse.com.
After her first YMP summer, Washington returned to Terry High for her junior year and wanted to push herself to become more involved around her school. She ran for homecoming court and also for the Student Committee, elected as publicity officer.
With the help of her Youth Media Project experience, Washington was inspired to join her school’s media team and take pictures at all school events. She even created her own photography page and began shooting outside school-related events.
Washington, now entering her senior year, has begun to focus more on her future as she looks forward to enrolling at Mississippi State University to major in biochemistry. After she graduates college, she plans to attend medical school and then open her own dermatology practice to successfully support herself and her family.
The love and passion for photography still sticks with Washington, and she plans to expand and continue it as a hobby. She is currently spending her second summer with YMP, this year as a student-mentor.
Washington isn’t exactly sure what her future holds or where it will ultimately take her, but she lives by her motto: “What’s not for me will be removed from my life.”
Click here to read about Morghan Thompson, who wrote this piece about fellow Youth Media Project student journalist Ava Washington.