Where I Live: North Crowley makes resident think of home, Leon Bridges
By Nicklaus Utsey, Delta Mu Foundation Scholarship Recipient for 2021
When I think of where I live, I think far beyond my physical address, ZIP code or place of birth. I think of where “home” is, and, as the saying goes: “Home is where the heart is.”
I consider myself to be Fort Worth through-and-through, having learned in communities from Stop Six to Southwest Fort Worth to Eastwood, where my grandparents live. This city itself brought me, my friends and my family up. This place educated me and taught me much about what it means to be a good person.
I was raised in and live in North Crowley. You may have heard of it — maybe you haven't. It's small and cozy and not too much happens over here. We have a couple of things to boast about:
The area is home to North Crowley High School, famous for its basketball team. Funnily, there's a video game called “Dark Seed II” that takes place in Crowley.
Crowley High School proudly claims popular R&B artist Leon Bridges as an alumnus. Interesting footnote: Although Bridges regularly declares his appreciation for Fort Worth, he tweeted in 2016 about his time at Crowley High: “Real talk, I hated high school because I was never ‘Black’ enough or bad enough to fit in.”
I am so grateful for the city of Crowley, but I do believe that home is where the heart is, and that is Fort Worth. My home is Stop Six, where I spent the past seven years being shaped and molded into a great student and an even better young man. My home is southwest Fort Worth, where I fell in love with sports, watching my dad's football and basketball teams dominate the area. My home is Eastwood, where I’ve made countless memories with my grandparents.
So, when I think of where I live, I think of North Crowley, but I wouldn't be doing myself justice if I didn't highlight the many communities that made me who I am.
Editor's note: Nicklaus Utsey went to Paul Laurence Dunbar Young Men's Leadership Academy. A story Nov. 15 was changed to reflect the high school he attended.
Nicklaus Utsey, 18, is a first-year journalism student at the University of Texas at Arlington. He lives in North Crowley.
North Crowley
Total population: 12, 559
Female: 52% | Male: 48%
Age
0-9: 10%
10-19: 16%
20-29: 10%
30-39: 15%
40-49: 18%
50-59: 13%
60-69: 13%
70-79: 5%
80 and older: 1%
Education
No degree: 6%
High school: 19%
Some college: 28%
Bachelor’s degree: 27%
Post-graduate: 21%
Click on the link to view the schools’ Texas Education Agency ratings:
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
