By Tyce Dishman
When students pass by him in the hallway, they might notice a yellow bandana swaying side to side matching his movements.
Few may know the true story that the bandana holds. This piece of fabric belonged to his best friend, a 17-year-old girl named Alex.
Maddox and Alex were inseparable as friends, growing their faith together in a youth group. But before Maddox knew it, Alex was about to do something that would alter her path and their friendship.
“The yellow bandana is a reminder to one of my friends (Alex) who committed suicide a couple of years ago,” Maddox said.
Maddox Brown along with many other Delta High School students and staff members have a special item that they hold dear. Items such as a silver necklace, a shining ring, and a sacred teddy bear all come with deeper meanings.
Maddox met Alex at a youth camp where they were put into color groups. Maddox was in the blue group and Alex was in the yellow group.
They spent many days at the camp talking and building their friendship. That is why at the end of the camp they decided to exchange bandanas with each other.
Since that day Maddox has held that bandana close to him.
Maddox is not the only person who keeps something close to his heart. Freshman Arianna Shaw wears a heart-shaped necklace shining above her own.
This necklace may seem like any ordinary stylish piece of jewelry, but few people realize what makes the necklace truly shine.
“I wear a necklace with my mother’s ashes,” Arianna said. “I feel like it’s a way for her to experience life with me, even though she’s not physically here.”
When Arianna was 9 years old her mother lost her five-year battle with cervical and ovarian cancer.
That’s when her grandparents approached her, asking if she would want something to honor her mother.
She was given the opportunity to pick out a locket that would contain her mother’s ashes, making the necklace truly glimmer.
For the following year after Arianna’s loss, it was hard for her to even think about her mother. So Arianna didn’t wear the necklace because it reminded her of the hard times she was going through.
Now Arianna is keeping the silver heart close to her own so she will never forget the memories and all the experiences that she made with her mother.
Making experiences with people come in many forms. For head custodian Lisa Baker a conversation with a friend and one surprise gift later brought a message that will shine for a lifetime.
Baker was attending church service at Tabernacle of Praise in Muncie. She sat down next to her usual church friend, Kathy, like any other Sunday. Baker was surprised when Kathy gave her a ring.
Much like these other items it wasn’t just any ordinary ring. The ring read “I Fight Like A Girl.”
“It was one of the first gifts I received after my diagnosis,” Baker said.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, but she didn’t let that stop her. Baker had multiple surgeries and treatments but never was left doubtful.
“My mom had passed away from the same kind of cancer two years before,” she said. “It just meant a lot that someone thought of me and gave it to me during that time, and it brought me comfort and peace when everything else was hard.”
In her times of sorrow Baker would look down at her hand and read the word Fight, and she did just that.
Baker is in remission now and has been cancer free for about 10 years.
Just like Baker, freshman Elizabeth Posey in times of sorrow has a special item that she clings to.
“When I see my teddy bear, I remember all the times, both good and bad, and it reminds me that I’ve made it through a lot and can handle more,” Posey said.
Growing up Posey wasn’t in the best living environment. That’s why at the age of seven she got removed from her family and placed with her current family.
After a long and grueling three-year custody battle between her former and current families, she was finally adopted by her new family. The judge gave her a teddy bear, and since that day she has kept it close.
The items these students carry may look ordinary to anyone else, but to them, they’re reminders of what makes them who they are.
Different stories, different backgrounds yet the silver necklace, shining ring, swaying bandanna and sacred teddy bear are symbols that remind these people why they move forward.
