Anna Blount

Scars tell stories, too

by Ashleigh Fields

Her tan olive skin with pink under toning is quickly juxtaposed by a dark lesion on her upper right leg. 

The mark on her right leg leaves room for inquiry but her smile quickly assures you of her friendly intentions. A picture wouldn’t do her justice. This is 17-year-old Anna Blount from Clinton, North Carolina.

She glances down nostalgically, remembering all the pain the scar has caused in her life, but also all of the joy.

“Because of the surgery, I saw a different side of my family,” Anna said.

Anna had to travel to Chapel Hill from Clinton to have the benign tumor in her leg removed.

At the time, her mother and father were away. She explains that it was her middle brother who stayed by her side throughout the long nights in the hospital.

“For my family, it was nerve racking, but they stuck it through,” Anna said.

She said her time spent in Chapel Hill taught her a lot.

“I was really discouraged because I saw who my real friends were,” Anna said.

But she believes it was the support of her church that encouraged her.

“My church community throughout North Carolina and our entire conference helped me” Anna said.

Anna is a Christian who is an active member of the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. It is from there that she derives her two favorite quotes to describe life. “God has a plan for your life,” and “Everything happens for a reason.”

She has used these two quotes to motivate her in accomplishing her goals. One of them happens to be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill while majoring in broadcast-journalism.  She said she would like to attend because it reminds her of vegetable soup.

“There’s a variety of things in the pot; when they all come together it works out,’ Anna said.

Anna said, “The diversity at Carolina is a producer of good things.”

But for now, Anna remains focused on the immediate future of her community. She hopes to continue playing the sports that she loves, which include swimming, dancing, and tennis. As of now, her physical therapist has cleared her to play again, but her doctor has not.

At school, Anna is working on developing the journalism department while gaining knowledge as vice president of visual communication at the North Carolina Scholastic Media Institute. She is also serving as president of the Key Club, junior class president, and a member of Beta Club.

“My goal in life is to be happy, have a tight knit family, and to look back and say I made a positive impact,” Anna said. “I know everything happens for a reason, I won’t dwell on the past, I’m moving ahead with full force.”