Magnolia Literacy Project Spotlight: Lana Brown Series
Writer and educator, Lana Brown (a 26-year veteran in public education), inspires her audience to actively pursue dreams, moving beyond fear and other barriers. Note her pattern of neologisms to emphasize faith and determination.
Brown is a graduate of Alcorn State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Communications; a Master of Arts in Secondary English Education; and a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education with a Concentration in Reading and Gifted Education. She also holds a Specialist in Education degree in Psychometry from Jackson State University. An instructor in gifted education with the Natchez Adams School District, Brown was selected by the Mississippi Department of Education to be a member of the ELA/Literacy High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) Review Team in the fall of 2020.
"Happy Feelings"
Happy Feelings
Inspire me to begin a new day
Leaving the troubles of yesterday,
A thing of the past
Eraseable
To have dreams that I can wake up feeling
Unburdended, self-forgiven, unbroken
Emancipated from my sins
Renewable
Unafraid to tackle a new day
Bending into the wind
Rather than repelling it
A symbiotic relationship
Mutual understanding
Agreeable
Determined like a general
Planting a stake of ownership on this date
Rather than the foot soldier
Simply taking orders, robotically
On a mission,
Unconquerable
Having boldly stated to the world
Today is MY day to make things happen!
The plot has been written,
The setting is here and now
The acclamation is made
The rest is simply execution
Undeniable
Onward March,
The path is goldly illuminated
Leading straight to the thrown of a King
Guiding and Testing me
Can’t ever achieve perfection
One had to die trying
Following His footsteps
As best I can
God fearingly
Got me in my feelings,
My happy feelings
Blessing me with a renewable policy
New life and opportunities every day
It lasts a lifetime
Only cost,
Believing
Best deal I ever made
Freely
Support
The Magnolia Literacy Project’s
initiative to showcase the writing and art
of Mississippians.