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| Me as a toddler. I still have that stuffed dog toy. |
In my last post, I shared that my 30th birthday is this month and I planned to celebrate by sharing more about myself with you. Well I figured the best way to do that would be in a three part series, with each series covering each decade of my life. So this first series will cover my life growing up in Jamaica.
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| Me, my dad and his “soul” (afro) |
I spent the first 10 years of my life in Jamaica and consider these years as the most influential time in my life. I had an amazing childhood growing up and couldn’t have asked for a better life. My parents both come from large families, so I grew up with dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins. I always felt love and encouragement from my family. My parents admittedly spoiled me, but they also instilled the value of kindness and humility without compromising my sense of self-worth. But if you ask them Auntie P is responsible for spoiling me. They’re right.
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| At Herrick Basic School graduation. (I still stare at my nails randomly LOL) |
We start school early in Jamaica (on average 3 years old). I started basic school at two and half years old. After basic school, I attended St. Cecilia Preparatory, one of the best private schools in Kingston.
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| My dad was about to take me to school |
And then came my sister, MsNastassja. I vividly remember when my parents told me that they were having another baby. I was super excited and said I wanted the baby to be a boy, so I could have a big brother. That’s also when they told me about how birth orders worked. I was to be a big sister.
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| MsNastassja’s baby Christening |
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| MsNastassja, Auntie P and me |
Both of my parents love to travel. So we would take vacations to the US, South America (including Venezuela) and other islands. My dad usually took business trips to the US and Central America (including Panama). For the most part, our trips were routine. But on one flight to Curacao, things didn’t go as planned.
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| That’s me and my mom on the right |
As the plane started to land, it crashed at the edge of the runway. I remember that someone grabbed my hand and everyone ran like hell away from the plane. I don’t remember being scared and afterward I was more irritated that my cousin got to slide down the emergency raft while I had to use the stairs. (The things we value at 8 years old). Everyone was safe but one pregnant lady went into labor. We carried on with our vacation as planned. Despite the potentially traumatic event, I never had any issues and still love to fly. One thing I did learn was that life is short.
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| You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t a model |
Birthdays were a big deal and every year my family would send flowers and fruit baskets to my school on my birthday. My parents always threw elaborate parties for me, complete with “bounce abouts” (aka bouncy house).
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| My 7th birthday party |
Although MsNastassja and I are 5 years apart, our mom thought it would be fun to dress us like twins. For everything.
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| Me, MsNastassja, our dad and his box haircut |
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| If I look annoyed, I probably was. From what I remember those clothes were itchy and hot |
In addition to school, I also took music (mostly drums and recorder) and dance (ballet) lessons. I preferred dance over music, so eventually my parents let me stop taking music lessons. I participated in Junior Carnival with my dance studio during my last year living in Jamaica.
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| [click to enlarge] Top left – Auntie P and MsNastassja Left – “Children of Tomorrow” at Junior Carnival (We won!) (that’s me on the right with the skinny legs) Center – Me and MsNastassja Left – Me and our mom |
I was sad yet excited about moving to the US. I didn’t think I would ever find my school friends. But thanks to Facebook, I’ve reconnected with several of my prep school friends. Thanks to my parents and family, I had a great life in Jamaica.