Hawaii born and Rockbridge raised, junior Thomas Joyner finds happiness in a variety of forms, ranging from books to yoga.

His father was previously in a medical unit in the Army. He trained soldiers and worked with field medics while stationed in Hawaii. While living there, Thomas was added to the Joyner family.

“I was born in Hawaii, and we lived there for about three years, then we went to Colonial Heights,” said Joyner. “My mom had been born in Lexington, and she’s like ‘I’m never moving back here again.’ And then my Dad was like, ‘Hey maybe we should move into Lexington.’ And that’s how I ended up here.”

Joyner’s father is currently a facilities manager at the University of Virginia and his mother is a Latin teacher at Lylburn Downing Middle School. Joyner himself is an employee at The Bookery, a bookstore in downtown Lexington. He enjoys the people who come in and the type of work he does.

“You get to see a lot of people you know because it’s a small community. It’s just a nice little bookstore,” said Joyner. “The disorganization is a little annoying but I get to fix that, so that’s nice.”

Along with organizing books, Joyner also enjoys reading them, but does not like to choose favorites.

“It’s like asking to pick a favorite limb. There’s just so many good books and they’re all good for completely different reasons,” said Joyner. “If I had to pick my most favorite, it would be ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.’ I really love that book.”

When Joyner is not working or reading, he can be found doing yoga. He uses yoga to channel his spirituality and focus on the human spirit.

“I do yoga because I’m weirdly spiritual,” said Joyner. “It’s not religion related. It’s human spirit and relaxation. I just like the idea of not only strengthening your body, but your mind at the same time.”

Joyner also ponders what to do with his life and how to help people around him. He seeks to influence as many lives as possible.

“Die a hero, if I could just trade my life for a bunch of other people, I would feel fulfilled,” said Joyner. “I wouldn’t really feel any qualms about doing that, but it’s something I would like to do with my life in general. I really want to make the world a better place. I want to be a teacher.”

He would like to be an English teacher because he enjoys reading, but is curious about other subjects, too. Joyner finds inspiration in his past teachers.

“My first grade teacher, she was really influential for me at a young age. She was sweet, but she didn’t have a problem being hard on someone,” said Joyner. “At such a young age it’s important to learn responsibility. I feel like she taught that to me.”

Joyner also credits his current teachers for inspiring him.

“Dr. Hayslette has really made me think about things I hadn’t before. I feel like I’ve not only grown in knowledge but I’ve grown as a person with her as a teacher,” said Joyner.

His teachers have set both positive and negative examples for him. In the future, Joyner hopes to influence his students the same way many of his teachers have done for him.

“I feel like I’ve learned so much from all of my teachers,” said Joyner. “And not all of it has been good things. Like how not to act, is something I’ve learned. I try to learn something from everyone though.”