This life has taken me many places and shown me many things. But I may only be half-way there, so I look forward to whatever else life has to bring.

I was born on August 31st 1967 in Kingston, Jamaica. My parents were police officers, which caused us to be moved about pretty often. I lived in Falmouth and then in Kingston city before we purchased our own home in St Catherine. While living in St Catherine, we commuted to Kingston ... my parents for work and us children for school. Kingston is a pretty hectic city, so it was a great change of pace for the entire family. And I suppose we did like any other middle-class family...moving into the suburbs.

In Jamaica, life was quite different. People were happier and had a much more laid back, optimistic attitude. There it was not uncommon to hear the phrase "No problem mon". Another common phrase was "Irie", which meant that everything was "kool" as Americans would say. But who could blame us with palm trees bending in balmy tropical breezes and the crystal-blue water lapping our beaches... an attitude that said relaxed and happy was to be expected. Everything about Jamaica said "tek it easy".

Another difference in Jamaica was that you did not need to be rich to have a maid or nanny. Anyone middle-class or above could hire helpers. Even though we only had a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house, I remember almost always having a maid/nanny. It was a sign of abundance, but more than that it was a sign of prestige.

My formal (written) language was the Queen's English but we often spoke a less formal language/ dialect called Patois. It is my understanding that Patois was formed when the African slaves due to their amazing intelligence was able to grasp portions of their white oppressors languages (spanish and english). My slave ancestors, who mostly spoke some form of Africaans, took what they could from a language that was held from them and created a means to communicate with other Africans and with the white oppressors.

As a Jamaican child, I was not permitted to address an adult by anything other than 'Mister This' or 'Miss That'. No child could address an adult by his/her first name. As a student, I was expected to adhere to very strict standards regarding dress (uniform) and conduct. We were expected to stand and say good morning if an adult entered the classroom. We were expected to raise our hand and wait our turn if we had something to say. Everything was orderly and children were lined-up in height order with the shorter ones in the front. I did not mind this having always been a bit on the shorter side. Our schooling system was much like the British system. I started school at age 3 and at the age of 10 I took a common-entrance exam to gain a seat in a high school. Students who did not pass the common entrance exam had one more opportunity to take the exam at age 11. If a student failed to make the grade the second time, he/she continued through elementary school until the age of 15 at which time the student could choose to attend a trade school. Each parent wanted his/her child to gain a seat in the best, most prestigious high school. A lot of pressure was put on students to academically compete and excel. I was fortunate enough to score well and gain a seat in a prestigious all-girls school. And so at age 11, I began high school. High school continues until age 16 at which time a student may apply for a seat at a university.

I left Jamaica at age 13 and initially moved to New York City. I arrived here on December 14th 1980 and what a surprise! Keeping in mind that I had only lived in a warm tropical climate, New York City on a December evening is rather cold. I will never forget the shock of realizing that a place could be so cold (even when wearing a coat). After experiencing this I realized how foolish it had been when we would wear light sweaters and blankets in Jamaica whenever the temperature would fall between 65 and 70 degrees.

After living in New York City for approximately 3 weeks, my family moved to Connecticut where I was called 'Oreo' by White schoolmates and got acquainted with the word 'Nigger'. Welcome to America! These were the same White schoolmates who copied my homework and copied off my exams in my stronger subjects (math and spanish). I admit I needed their help in Social Studies and History. The funny thing about being called 'Oreo' was that I was from a nation that was mostly made up of people of African origin (black folks), but the ignorance of my White schoolmates led them to believe that being Black regardless of country, culture, or individuality meant behaving like "J-J" on the TV show "Good Times". I understand now that many people have this ignorant attitude. But like Mr. T says "I pity the fool" <smile>.

After one year in Connecticut, I moved back to New York City. New York City high schools can be a very tough environment but like anywhere else, there are many kinds of people and the variety made things very interesting. I was a member of my high school volleyball team, a writer for the newspaper and joined the yearbook club. I was fairly well-know and considered to be a quiet, nice person. I went on to be a honors student and graduated in the top 10-percent of my graduating class.

Even though I was accepted to several well-known universities, my parents were still struggling financially and so college did not appear to be much of an option. I was ineligible for several scholarships because of my citizenship status. One scholarship that I was offered was the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship. I attended Long Island University - C.W. Post campus for one year (majoring in Journalism). I had always enjoyed writing and languages and had hopes of travelling the world (war-zones and all) and gathering the hottest news from the most adventurous places. The money was not available to pay my tuition, so I dropped out of college and worked at a local mall first as a server at a Gourmet restaurant (OK, so it was a food court restaurant, but it was called Gourmet Foods <smile>) and then as a salesperson at a Lady Foot Locker (40% off clothes).

It didn't take long for me to realize that this type of work was not what I needed to be doing. My only way out was the military, so I joined the Air Force. The plan was to serve one term and then separate with enough money to fund my college education. My service time brought me many firsts...first drunk, first love, first engagement, first car, first credit card, etc. I had a very good time being an Airman and then a Sergeant and that good time was somewhat costly. I separated from the Air Force with very little extra money.

Following my years in the Air Force, I returned to college...this time at Illinois State University where I decided to major in Psychology. This time around, my choice for a major had more to do with my parents desire to have a MD or Phd in our immediate family. I aimed to please.

Two years into my degree program I became terribly ill and had to once again drop out of college. I began to believe that maybe I was just not meant to complete a college degree. My illness had caused me to miss a lot of class sessions and my grades reflected that. As a matter of fact, my final semester I did not attend any classes during the final semester that I was enrolled, and since I was hospitalized and unable to go in and officially withdraw, I received a F in each class. I had no health insurance and so I lost my apartment, my job and almost everything else I owned. Fortunately, I was able to hold on to my car because it had been paid off. I was much too proud at the time and refused to let my parents know just how sick I was and how much I had lost. I first stayed with friends and then at a local homeless shelter.

After my recovery, I initially let go of the idea of gaining a college degree. I worked in Physical Therapy (my Air Force training) and sometimes managed to make ends meets. I would also work part-time as a Youth Development Worker. I wrote poems and created art during my free time. One day (and I'm not sure why), I decided to purchase a computer. I had no experience with computers, but was curious about them. This first computer was a 486DX. It had no CD-ROM drive at a time when everything was going CD. I installed a CD-ROM drive and added extra memory. The modem was 2400bps. I was unaware that they could be much faster <smile>. One day...I bought and installed a 33.6 modem and Whoa!!! I never knew. (ha!). After that I spent a lot of time fiddling with my new toy.

Eventually and out of curiousity, I decided to enroll in a computer science course at a local community college. I enjoyed the course tremendously and learned a lot. Needless to say, I was one of the students with the least computer-related knowledge coming into the course. I continued to take more computer science courses until the college-degree-bug bit me again. I once again decided to pursue a Bachelors degree....this time majoring in Computer Science. Currently, I am 7 courses and one internship away from completing my degree. I am always anxious about failure (considering how many times I have experienced it before). But I give myself credit for having gotten up each time I fell. And I keep in mind that I never got up on my own (thanks to friends, family and Almighty God).

So here I am with plans to finish my degree. I am also planning to relocate to the Virginia coast where my Dad has offered me a place to stay (he dabbles in real estate). My plans are to buy a condo inside the city limits where I will spend most of my time and then purchase an old house in the country to spend my weekends and some of my holiday time. I would like to have a large back yard at the country house and build a sculpting studio there. It would be wonderful to find a great man who shares my values and goals and to possibly start a family, but these are things that I can not plan. Regardless of what happens, I look forward to living a more rewarding, much more fulfilling life in a place on the coast. I miss the Caribbean Sea, but for now any portion of the Atlantic ocean will do.

Jamaica -various parts of the island but mostly south-central areas.
Canada - Toronto, Montreal
USA - New York, Connecticut, Texas, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Jersey, Virginia