I’m a Caribbean-American born in Canarsie, Brooklyn, and my familial roots stem from Barbados and St. Lucia in the West Indies. I’ve visited both countries multiple times, with a trip most recently to Barbados that spanned a good portion of my summer before college. Hunter was not originally my first choice, but my financial situation and lack of desire to leave the city left his school as my only option. Though, I’m aware of its positive repertoire, and I will try to make the best of it. My experiences with writing didn’t come from lengthy amounts of time practicing early in my childhood, but simply started with the stories I’d scribble out in the backs of my notebooks about the characters from my favorite graphic novel series during middle school. Those were then upgraded to their very own notebook where a variety of my writings were nestled, some lauded by my seventh grade English teacher who pretty much everyone adored. I dabbled in my middle school’s jazz band for two years, though I wasn’t able to continue with the saxophone since my high school didn't’ have the resources. I liked studying biology, physics, and French in high school, and English solely for the rare chances I got to write a creative piece. Teachers would often praise my analytical essays but although I was good at them, there was nothing I hated more. I also got into Instagram-based photography in high school, appreciating the aesthetics of towering office buildings and neon signs particularly. Writing as a career first came as an idea to me in high school after interning with Women’s eNews where I successfully finished my first article. To be frank, creative writing is way more fun for me, but getting ideas out of my head and onto paper is it a lot harder now than it was when I was eleven.