A soon to be 7 year old made the journey with her mom and brothers on a rickety boat from the Bahamas to West Palm Beach. Yes, I was/am one of those Haitian “boat people”. I remember the dark and scary water of the Atlantic Ocean. The death of a Haitian woman that they threw her body in the ocean. Yes, that is why I have an aversion and even fear of cruise ships, boats, and ocean.
My parents knowledge of the English language was very limited. I was their translator. I grew up faster than I wanted. I saw and knew things that I shouldn’t know as a child. I was teased a lot because I was “different”. I developed a shell. You saw me but you don’t SEE me.
I had one goal during my childhood — go to college. I wanted to be better than my parents. I wanted more from life and 37 years later here I AM!
I’ve had a couple of bumps and bruises along the way; however, I refuse to let my past hinder MY present and future, but rather shape it.
Who would have thought this “boat person”…this Haitian girl would be seeing the world and living a life of purpose and passion.
