How does being away from the homeland affect you? Is it a difference of being a big fish in little pond rather than a little fish in a big pond. Meaning if you were at home, would you be more successful, influential, recognized than you are here.

Migration often takes a toll on self esteem and it is sometimes difficult to realize one’s full potential when there is a feeling of not belonging and even worse, of not being welcome. As Jamaicans, we struggle and do our level best to make it to the surface and keep our heads above water. Would it be the same struggle if we had remained in Jamaica? And wouldn’t we be more recognized for our efforts had we remained there? We most certainly would have had more help making the trek to the top, and the top would be visible, not necessarily obscured by that glass ceiling. Now I don’t want to be negative and put a damper on things, because we are a striving people and Jamaicans are in every corner of the world. On my first trip to Paris, France I was on a street corner, doing my best imitation of somebody who can talk French and all of a sudden a driver, who was pissed at the slowed traffic yelled “Mek yu nuh move the cyar”. In Paris, France, Europe, far from here, across the ocean to rahtid. Now that was the last place I expected to hear this expletive. So regardless of the struggle, we are everywhere, still prominent and do our level best to reach the surface, regardless of the size of the stream.

What has your experience been like and how might it be different had you remained a yawd.