Written by Latisha Jones
Photo: 17-year-old Layla Richardson, who was affected by COVID-19 in a unique way
Layla Richardson is a 17-year-old junior attending Genesee Early College (GEC). This year has brought many challenges her way, but she managed to overcome them all! For many of us this year has been extremely emotional and full of trials and tribulations. With the hashtag World War III trending the January 3 and with the lost of the beloved Kobe Bryant along with his daughter Gianna Bryant, Layla Richardson has had her own personal losses.
The week of March 16 was the start of the next chapter of her life. During that week she was expected to start her new job at the Levi’s Outlet Store at the Great Lakes Crossing. She was devastated when she discovered that the world would take on a global lockdown and everything was ordered to close.
This summer she was also expected to attend an internship at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor as part of the Michigan Health Sciences Summer Institute Pre-College Exposure Program. This added to the unfortunate events that continue to plague Richardson and her family.
A few weeks later, Richardson’s life took another turn for the worse with a series of unfortunate events. She lost her uncle who was a beloved pastor in the Flint community along with two other cousins-all due to COVID-19. With the family not able to grieve the lost of their family the proper way really hit home for them. They weren’t able to have a family gathering as they usually would because of the restrictions that were set in place to for our safety.
However that didn’t stop them! They came up with creative ideas to social distance and still be there for each other. The family created inspirational signs and drove by each other’s homes for comfort during this difficult time. The Richardson family has faced many challenges during this time but it has brought their family close knit family together even closer than they were before, according to Richardson.
