Something special from the Editor

There’s always something I am always asked over and over again, “Jacob, how do you make time to do the things that you do?” or “Jacob, aren’t you a little too young to be involved as much as you are in things?”

The truth is, I don’t know how to properly answer those questions. I know one thing for sure, I feel a strong sense of patriotism, especially when it comes to my hometown of Leland, Mississippi.

Living here all of my life, I feel like I have picked up a few lessons as time has passed. Leland is a small town, everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everything about everyone. My family, being as spread out as it is, has played a huge role in the development of my character, there is no doubt about that, but another thing I always have to consider is how much everyone else also plays huge roles in my life.

Every person I have encountered has affected me in one way or the other. Whether I only met that person for a split second in my life or if I encounter them every single day, somehow, some way, they have made some impact.

From a very young age, I have been ambitious. My parents always told me, if you want something, go get it. Being as young as I was at the time, I remember asking my parents why they were able to provide me with a lot of things but not give me things that I wanted. Now, I know. The reward of getting something that you want is so much greater when you work for it, rather than it being handed to you.

When COVID-19 hit our nation, I believe I was 13 or 14 years old at the time. I got bored sitting in my house doing online school; I could not stand it. To this day, I would much rather engage in physical presence in a classroom, rather than take a class online. It’s just who I am. Needless to say, the boredom got to the point where I could not sit inside any longer. I decided that I was going to cut some grass, grass that did not belong to my yard.

I took my little push-mower that my dad loaned me, and I walked the streets of the Lakeview neighborhood asking everyone who wanted me to cut their grass. I had quite a few people that let me do the job. My little push-mower side hustle gained enough traction that my dad helped me get a zero-turn lawnmower. At 14 years old, I was cutting around 26 yards.

Unfortunately for me, the State of Mississippi had not yet brought back the hardship licenses, so I just drove the zero-turn around town to get to each yard. I did that until I graduated high school.

At 15 years old, I wanted to serve my community. I thought, what better way to do that than to join the Leland Volunteer Fire Department. It was a crazy concept – well, at least that is what my mama told me. Somehow, I convinced both of my parents and Bobby Johnson and Randy Ray to let us all sign a waiver to allow me to help out until I was old enough to actually join.

Mind you, I was 15 at the time, still had no driver’s license, but my precious mama allowed me to wake her up at all hours of the night to bring me to each and every fire call we had, so that I could help.

Being allowed to help was something that really created a special place in my heart for the Leland Fire Department and for people like Jimmy Sherman, who took the time out of their evenings to teach me things and show me the ropes. Jimmy spent countless hours talking to me, allowing me to visit with him and so much more, just because of how interested I became.

They didn’t have to let me help, they didn’t have to let me join, but they did. At the time, I felt as if I became a little brother to them all, being the youngest in the room all of the time. There were times where they protected me from danger, stood by my side in frustration, and offered me guidance on things. Some of them even came to watch me play in soccer games in high school, just because they knew how much it meant to me. That kind of loyalty will always stick with me.

At 16 years old, I wanted to join the Leland Rotary Club. Mind you, Leland Rotary meets at noon on Mondays. St. Joseph Catholic School Principal Craig Mandolini allowed me to use my study hall to go and attend the meetings. Coach Mando, as I called him, has been another one who has always supported my ambitions, especially in the high school setting.

At 19 and a freshman in college, I wanted to go to the Mississippi House of Representatives. My Ole Miss professors, friends, family, and others pushed and encouraged me. There, I made so many connections and learned so much about the processes of our state government that I was able to go back and do it again my sophomore year.

At 19, I also was hired to be the Chief of Staff for Alderwoman Nancy Jo King of Ward 5 for Leland, Mississippi. I have since served in that same role that she has allowed me to. She has allowed me to give my new ideas and opinions on policy that have, for the greater good, affected Leland.

Now, at 20, I was asked to be the Editor of The Leland Progress, something I never imagined I would be doing honestly. My initial reaction was going to be to decline the role, just because I had no idea on how to even operate a newspaper. The thought of something new scared me, just because I did not want to mess anything up. However, it has been the encouragement of others that led me into accepting the role in not only running the paper, but being the youngest Board member for the Leland Chamber of Commerce.

While I do have many things on my plate, lots of clubs, boards, jobs, hobbies, etc., I find that it has always come back to the encouragement of others around me that has led me into doing things that I did not ever imagine. So, yes, people play a huge role in each of our lives, even if it is just for a brief moment in time.

I never see an interaction as a negative one, because somehow you gain something from it. If my life has taught me anything, it is that no one builds a life alone, and the greatest way to honor the people who believed in you is to spend your own life believing in, serving, and building up the place that first believed in you.

Leland may be a small dot on the map, but it has taught me the biggest lesson of all: that the measure of a life is not found in what you take from your hometown, but in what you leave behind for the people who call it home. So, long after the meetings end, the headlines fade, and the titles are forgotten, it will always be the people who believed in me and the hometown that raised me that define who I am as a person.