Misty Thomas:
‘I’ve made mistakes, but they don’t make me!’
By Marcinho Savant
Misty Thomas is a diligent, hard-working, successful nursing student at Northwest Louisiana Technical College. She says that the road to studying nursing has been filled with twists and turns.
Mitzi developed an infatuation with hair and makeup while she was in high school, when at one point she was dually-enrolled at Huntington High School and Fair Park Medical Careers Magnet School.
She later enrolled in school to study Cosmetology, but discovered this was not the field she was destined for.
Then she took PCT (Personal Care Technician) training, then CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) school, but was still only manifesting a portion of her vision. Although there was lots of “hands-on” interaction, she learned that there was not a lot of respect in that area. She says nursing is more intimate, accountable, offers impactful care, and is a more respected career.
Misty is drawn to the art of patient care and nursing as a life path and career aspiration. At present, the mother of two seeks to learn “What realm of nursing I desire, growing my passion for nursing --- and finding one specialization that speaks to me as self-gratifying, in my passion for helping people. I feel good on the inside when I help someone. I wish I would have made the RN degree happen before my children (Taurean, 5 and Misty, 2) were born because I’m taking time away from my babies while I figure it out.” She emphasizes that her children are her primary motivation in life.
Mitzi developed an infatuation with hair and makeup while she was in high school, when at one point she was dually-enrolled at Huntington High School and Fair Park Medical Careers Magnet School.
She later enrolled in school to study Cosmetology, but discovered this was not the field she was destined for.
Then she took PCT (Personal Care Technician) training, then CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) school, but was still only manifesting a portion of her vision. Although there was lots of “hands-on” interaction, she learned that there was not a lot of respect in that area. She says nursing is more intimate, accountable, offers impactful care, and is a more respected career.
Misty is drawn to the art of patient care and nursing as a life path and career aspiration. At present, the mother of two seeks to learn “What realm of nursing I desire, growing my passion for nursing --- and finding one specialization that speaks to me as self-gratifying, in my passion for helping people. I feel good on the inside when I help someone. I wish I would have made the RN degree happen before my children (Taurean, 5 and Misty, 2) were born because I’m taking time away from my babies while I figure it out.” She emphasizes that her children are her primary motivation in life.
Misty's pride and joy, her children: Taurean, 5 and Misty, 2
Misty's father, the late Mr. Melvin Thomas
Misty’s life has not been without its twists, turns, and devastating losses. Her military father was killed when she was nine months old. He died when an intoxicated driver (his cousin) was driving while under the influence. As an adult, Misty recently put a face with a name. She wanted to see the driver to get an apology, and give him a chance to make amends. “You knew you shouldn’t have been driving a car, and the passenger is gone and you still have life --- I do feel cheated, but don’t hold a grudge. I wanted to see what kind of guy he was. I didn’t go to indict the man ... just to see him and get some closure,” she said.
She says the loss of her father impacted her life in substantial ways. With no male figure in the home she had no knowledge about men, dating, and had to figure it all out on her own.
Misty's Grandmother, Ms. Julie Edwards holding Misty's daughter, Misty.
The women in Misty’s upbringing have had the most impactful presence. Misty’s grandmother was an inspiration to her for being so hard working. Her grandmother, “made sure to buy me Nubian Barbie products. She wanted to be sure for me to see that my color is just as beautiful as the next girl’s.” Even then her grandmother knew that “the odds are against us … So she wanted to be sure to make black girls love our image, and ourselves.”
Misty's Grandmother has been the model of self-sufficiency since the age of 20. She followed the rules and got married, divorced --- kept stability and always worked hard, so she says she never asked anyone where anything was coming from. Reflecting on the challenges in her life, the eventual debutante later found herself with two kids, having spent three or four years building a family and raising them along with their dad.
Misty's Grandmother has been the model of self-sufficiency since the age of 20. She followed the rules and got married, divorced --- kept stability and always worked hard, so she says she never asked anyone where anything was coming from. Reflecting on the challenges in her life, the eventual debutante later found herself with two kids, having spent three or four years building a family and raising them along with their dad.
Misty's mother, Ms. Mitzi Edwards
Don’t fall in love easily, or too quickly --- I should have been a lot more strict on waiting on monogamy, and marriage --- instead of hoping he’s going to stick around! “Sure, men are cute, but they need to be held accountable as adults.”
Misty's younger sister, Miyana Edwards, who is scheduled to graduate from LSU-S with a degree in Criminal Law.
Her first year of college, Misty was majoring in Psychology, following in her mother’s footsteps to “please Mom.” After a year-and-a-half, she learned that it was not what she wanted. Misty longed to be hands-on and up front in helping people. She became a tech support technician, advising people on cell phones, and other technology --- but says it got boring. At that time, she was pregnant and no longer able to work 12 hr shifts.
Her mother, Mitzi Edwards, played an equally vital role in the development of the woman that Misty Thomas is today. Her mother taught her to “stand up for what’s right, even if you’ve got to do it by yourself, and to never worry about being disliked. In the eyes of God --- doing what was right is all that matters.”
Misty is very close to her younger sister Miyana Edwards, who is scheduled to graduate from LSU-S with a degree in Criminal Law.
Their mother has passed on “drive” as a gift to both of her daughters. She runs in marathons, and is an advocate for breast cancer awareness to college-aged young women. She tries to stress to them that it is never too early to get things checked on, just like a regular pap smear, because cancers come early as well --- but if ignored or left untreated, cause serious problems.
Misty supports breast cancer awareness as well--- advocating, to all who will listen, about self-exams and getting mammograms every year. Her own scare began with finding a lump when she was 19 years old. The lump turned out to be benign at the time, but she still wants women to know that it could change from “harmless” and jump to Stage-4 breast cancer out of the blue.”
(According to Sister’s Network®, Inc., a national African-American breast cancer survivorship organization), “Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among African-American women. Among younger women (under age 45), however, the mortality rate of breast cancer is higher in African-Americans than in whites.” - http://www.sistersnetworkinc.org/breastcancerfacts.html.
Misty is dreaming of a peaceful life, buying a home, having a safe and peaceful environment to call her own, and having something to leave for future generations. She wants to be respected in her career, find something to retire from, and “continue being a good mom to my kids.”
Misty is clear: “I’ve made mistakes, but they don’t make me!” Of all the many challenges in her life, whether personal, legal, or situational, Misty has survived, thrived, and has sound advice for all young women based on the hard-won lessons of her life so far:
1. Pray.
2. Keep calm.
3. Pay attention to the people you allow into your circle --- watch who you call “friend”, because not everybody is.
4. Don’t fall in love easily, or too quickly --- I should have been a lot more strict on waiting on monogamy, and marriage --- instead of hoping he’s going to stick around! “Sure, men are cute, but they need to be held accountable as adults.”
5. Work in every way on providing for yourselves.
6. Make stability your principal responsibility.
If only everyone heeded that advice.
If you know of an inspirational, daring, young person in Shreveport-Bossier, please let us know by contacting The Shreveport Sun editorial desk with your recommendation, and we will do our best to feature nominees in future editions. Contact us by calling (318) 631-6222.