Manmay LaKay Magazine Issue 2 April 2018 | Page 77

Some classmates would mock my
speech when I shared answers in the
class. The teasing did not deter me
from sharing. We were also teased
because of our hairdos. My mother
would put fresh curls in our hair every
day. Some curious girls would pull and
tug at our curls to watch them bounce
back; they didn’t understand how our
curls were made. My teacher also made me line leader
sometimes.  
They fought back with their fists and
curses in french creole...

I got into fistfights almost
on a daily basis to protect
my sister and me. I would
remember who the 
teasers were and meet
with them after school
(lol). I would even curse
them out loudly in
patois. They had no
idea what those words 
meant, but it made me feel
better. Thank goodness my
parents were not around to hear
those curses.  But that was not always been Bekha's dream...
Haha…
My teasers and bullies faced
consequences for their undesirable
actions and were warned against
continuing their behavior. Thankfully, I
had teachers who were nurturing and
went above and beyond to help
acclimatize me to the classroom and the
American school system. I was given
classroom responsibilities such as
watering classroom plants and feeding
the pet rabbit, gerbil and snake.
Bekha survived the school environment and
went on to becoming a teacher herself...
I am an educator and have taught for 18 years. I
am currently a clinical reading specialist and
teacher trainer, working at my own business
in Antigua. And recently became an author.  

My earliest dream was to
become Miss Universe and
then a radio disc jockey, but
both those ideas died quickly
(lol).
I thought about
becoming an actress, and   
I still have some
thoughts about it (side
eye with a grin).  Just
acting in commercials
though, 
not motion pictures.  I think I’m quite shy,

yet sometimes I love to perform on a stage
or in front of a camera. I can’t explain this
phenomenon (lol).

After high school I still had not a clue what I
wanted to do. Becoming a doctor or a lawyer
or any of those high profile jobs that appeal to
Caribbean parents, I felt were quite overrated.
I wanted to pursue a career that I was
passionate about, not a career that my parents
can brag about, but I had no interest in.
Some of her earlier jobs...
I started out by working for several years in