Clarke Central High School senior Ty’Quashia Lattimore waits for her ride on the steps of CCHS’ ceremonial entrance. Ty’Quashia, being in her final year at CCHS, values her time as a student in Athens as she has come to learn the importance of her education. “School’s not something I like, but it’s something I have to do,” Ty’Quashia said. “It prepares you most for the real world.” Photo by Andrew Caldwell.
The ODYSSEY Media Group will provide viewers with stylized profiles that center on people in the Athens community telling their own stories.
By ANDREW CALDWELL – Print Junior Copy Editor
Clarke Central High School senior Ty’Quashia Lattimore reflects on her time at CCHS and how her experience has shaped her to become the woman she is today.
“Just see the brighter side of everything. That’s the key to life, isn’t it?”
She waits patiently, the first of autumn breezes brushing against her face as she looks outwards, her foot tapping along to the engines of running cars.
She sits thinking. Thinking about what is after. After today, after tomorrow, after high school.
Her whimsical, witty jokes surface as she awaits her ride to Pizza Hut, a job she has been working since the summer. With the amount of time she has before work, she reflects on her experience as a student, older sister and role model.
“I’m a very expensive person. I like to spend money, mostly on my little sister. I just don’t want to have her want for anything,” senior Ty’Quashia Lattimore said.
As a prominent figure for her younger sister, Ty’Quashia betters herself for her family, never backing out of arguments and standing up for who she is — a lesson she learned from her grandmother.
Ty’Quashia, now a young woman, asks herself what is to come after her final year at Clarke Central High School?
“I want to be a lawyer. I’m a great debater. Honestly, I could argue with a wall,” Ty’Quashia said. “But I have a duty: to join the military.”
Her presence is strong, almost commanding. Her dominance is so noticeable. The wind does not sway her. But beyond that power, there’s a light smile, a gentle laugh, a girl with a raw, infectious persona that seems at ease. Carefree.
Legs crossed, right arm bent back propping her head, she runs her fingers along the chipped concrete steps, unfazed, almost relieved about the next chapter of her life.
“Being a senior, it’s such a great breath of fresh air. It’s like, I’m almost done. Like I have a couple months here and I’m gonna be done,” Ty’Quashia said.
She chuckles softly, looking down and whispers, “Where has time gone?”
Her words escape her, carrying off into the crisp air far above the school she has attended for four years.
“I think the military will make me a better person. I feel like I’m a good person, like I have a really big heart, but I just feel like it’ll just teach me areas of weakness that I can work to fix,” Ty’Quashia said.
That drive, that passion for perfecting her moral character is undeniable.
But her warmth, her open heart is what she embodies and represents.
As the last of the sunlight dips below the dark pine trees, the light catches her eyes, and one thing is certain.
She is independent.
She is calm.
She is free.
