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Some classmates would mock my<br />
speech when I shared answers in the<br />
class. The teasing did not deter me<br />
from sharing. We were also teased<br />
because of our hairdos. My mother<br />
would put fresh curls in our hair every<br />
day. Some curious girls would pull and<br />
tug at our curls to watch them bounce<br />
back; they didn’t understand how our<br />
curls were made.<br />
They fought back with their fists and<br />
curses in french creole...<br />
I got into fistfights almost<br />
on a daily basis to protect<br />
my sister and me. I would<br />
remember who the<br />
teasers were and meet<br />
with them after school<br />
(lol). I would even curse<br />
them out loudly in<br />
patois. They had no<br />
idea what those words<br />
meant, but it made me feel<br />
better. Thank goodness my<br />
parents were not around to hear<br />
those curses.<br />
Haha…<br />
My teasers and bullies faced<br />
consequences for their undesirable<br />
actions and were warned against<br />
continuing their behavior. Thankfully, I<br />
had teachers who were nurturing and<br />
went above and beyond to help<br />
acclimatize me to the classroom and the<br />
American school system. I was given<br />
classroom responsibilities such as<br />
watering classroom plants and feeding<br />
the pet rabbit, gerbil and snake.<br />
My teacher also made me line leader<br />
sometimes.<br />
Bekha survived the school environment and<br />
went on to becoming a teacher herself...<br />
I am an educator and have taught for 18 years. I<br />
am currently a clinical reading specialist and<br />
teacher trainer, working at my own business<br />
in Antigua. And recently became an author.<br />
But that was not always been Bekha's dream...<br />
My earliest dream was to<br />
become Miss Universe and<br />
then a radio disc jockey, but<br />
both those ideas died quickly<br />
(lol).<br />
I thought about<br />
becoming an actress, and<br />
I still have some<br />
thoughts about it (side<br />
eye with a grin). Just<br />
acting in commercials<br />
though,<br />
not motion pictures. I think I’m quite shy,<br />
yet sometimes I love to perform on a stage<br />
or in front of a camera. I can’t explain this<br />
phenomenon (lol).<br />
After high school I still had not a clue what I<br />
wanted to do. Becoming a doctor or a lawyer<br />
or any of those high profile jobs that appeal to<br />
Caribbean parents, I felt were quite overrated.<br />
I wanted to pursue a career that I was<br />
passionate about, not a career that my parents<br />
can brag about, but I had no interest in.<br />
Some of her earlier jobs...<br />
I started out by working for several years in
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