How long have you been in Greenville? Fifteen years
What is your story?
My story is about perseverance, but I keep getting back up and fighting. That is my story, hard things can allow us to experience growth even if it does not look like it does on paper. You can have a very fulfilling happy life. But you have to want it.
I grew up in Laurens County in Joanna, with my brother, mother and step-father. Being in Joanna, it is a rural area. There were not too many people so we went outside and played throughout the day but I also read a lot.
My favorite books were: Islands of the Blue Dolphins, Stephen King and Ann Rice in sixth grade. I also loved Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. That was the book that made me realize my passion is literature. You could say something, convey an emotion and maybe change someone else’s life. That is powerful.
People get really drawn into their own subjective view point, let’s all take a step back and realize that we are all trying to get to the same place with typically the same needs. We are typically good, people are good even though we make bad and selfish decisions. I have done some things that hurt people, even though I did not intentionally try to do harm. It wasn’t as if I woke up one day and said, ‘I am going to try to hurt so-and-so,’ it happened. But take away all the good you can and grow.
I have two daughters, a thirteen year-old and a two year-old. My thirteen year-old currently lives with her dad as we are figuring out things, we are in a homeless shelter, and my two year-old daughter is with me.
What would you say would be the most interesting fact about yourself?
I have had a pretty tough life, I grew up with a heroin addict for a mother. I have been homeless several times but I have not allowed that to make me angry. People can get weighed down in their own world and things that happen to them, but I try to be forgiving and have a kind outlook on life.
What are your favorite hobbies? Reading and writing
What is your favorite Greenville morning hangout spot?
I am usually at work, but I would say Coffee Underground, grab a quick coffee and go to the park.
What is your favorite Greenville evening hangout spot?
The Augusta Road/Westend area is changing so much, it is kind of a bittersweet thing. I am watching growth and development but also change. There is crime that is gone, but so are families.
However, right across from Dunbar, behind the DMV, there is a lot of new developments where you can see Greenville becoming a different town. You can see all the green and growth at the same time.
How would you describe Greenville?
Greenville is a small city and then Greenville became a big city with a huge vein of philanthropy. However, we have to be careful that we do not become homogenized, everything becoming the same. It is unique that we can currently ride around on the Greenville Trolley and get off in a safe environment, an environment with our friends.
How would Greenville describe, you, Ginny Knight?
Either as a [restaurant] server or the upbeat lady walking around with her daughter.
What about Greenville makes you proud?
Helpful, because I have experienced homelessness, off and on, about six-months in Greenville. People always help, even though it hurts your pride, people do not look down on their nose and that spirit of help.
What is the motto or phrase that you try to live by?
It is not how many times you fall, it is how many times you get back up. That is what I tell my two year-old daughter daily when we wake up, ‘ok, let’s go on an adventure.’
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