Through reading, we connect with our communities. Through words, let’s find the courage to care.

My great-grandma Nonna Bailey, my grandma’s mother, had to quit school in the eighth grade to help her family so they could survive. She knew how to cook like no one else, she could sew anything, and then there was something my mom and dad noticed when they first got married and visited her: She would read the newspaper and knew everything and anything going on.

She was a Bailey — of Irish descent — and she had an opinion on everything, too. I like to think I inherited that fiery spirit and inquisitive mind. For those who know me, I definitely have an opinion on everything as well. Just like Nonna.

Too many people these days watch one channel on the TV for their news source, and they don’t even bother to read a newspaper or Kansas Reflector. I used to be published about once a month in the letters to the editor section of the Topeka Capital-Journal and I received my news from several reputable sources.

My father had a doctorate in communications from the University of Oklahoma and he taught communications at various universities and colleges throughout my childhood, including Washburn University, where he received tenure. He watched the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour every evening after our family dinner.

Then he would sit in his recliner in the living room grading papers, then he would work on the book he was writing at the time. He even taught political communication, and later after he quit teaching a lady from church told me he had been one of her favorite professors.

At Cair Paravel-Latin school in Topeka, we had a class called “Great Ideas,” in which we read Aristotle and Plato and many other great writers and thinkers. Doug Iliff, who founded the school, taught the class and we had to write essays about what we had read. That was the birth of my writing opinion pieces. I haven’t looked back.

I recently attended a panel discussion about William Allen White, journalism and opinion writing at the Kansas Museum of History, and it was fascinating. Listening to the panelists also made me sad because so many newspapers are struggling to survive or have not survived.

Reflector Opinion Page Editor Clay Wirestone spoke on the panel, and his insights were eye-opening and his insight into White, the famous newspaper editor and writer from Emporia, was gripping. I learned a lot.

I like to read. I like to drive my Toyota Corolla to the library and page through about four newspapers. If people are kept in the dark about things and don’t have knowledge on the day’s events and happenings, they can’t truly participate in their corner of the world.

I used to go to a nearby McDonald’s every morning and purchase a cup of hot, yummy coffee to start my day. I would always see the same group of older men, sitting there together with their copies of the newspaper and sharing their opinions. I sure would have liked to have been a fly on the wall listening to them. Their perspective would be enlightening and educational.

My grandparents lived in an old, historic home in Americus, Georgia, that was built during the Civil War. Former U.S. Speaker of the House Charles Crisp used to live in their home in the 1800s. Whenever I would visit, I would sit in my favorite front room and think of all the fascinating conversations that must have taken place there.

felt connected to history. “If these walls could talk,” I guess the old saying goes.

I will never stop learning. I will never stop reading. I will never stop caring about my fellow Kansans and Americans, no matter what their social status or background or race. More than that: I dare to care. If someone is not affected personally by an issue it’s easy for them to say, “I don’t really care. I have my needs met, so isn’t that all that matters?” They may not say that but it seems too many people think that.

My faith and educational background inspire me to learn and to care. I will reach out, I will learn about others and I will lend a helping hand.

Rebecca Lyn Phillips is a published author, speaker and mental health advocate. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.