This has always been such a weird question to me. Like, where do I really start? And how do you capture your entire being in an introduction? This was way easier to do when I was in school because everyone uses the same formula: Name, year in school, major, instrument, and hometown. But now that I have graduated, this formula doesn’t work that well. One doesn’t really tell random people what instrument they play in casual conversation. And I no longer have a year in school. So where do I even start? Hmm I may be over thinking this a little but I’ll do the best I can:
My name is Katie, well it’s really Kathryn but no one calls me Kathryn (actually, two of my uncles do and I love it because it’s laced nicely in their enduring Jamaican accents). I’m from Evanston, IL, which is a no-so small suburb on the northern boarder of Chicago. I’m 26, as of my recent birthday (July 27). I am an only child and like to think that I don’t act like one. I mean, I want what I want when I want it, but doesn’t everyone?
My family is from Jamaica and I consider myself Jamaican. Even though I was born in America and my father is American, you can’t tell me otherwise. Being submerged in Jamaican culture was the reality of my upbringing so I really don’t know much else. Soup on Saturdays, rice and peas on Sundays, bun and cheese on Easter, sorrel for Christmas, and returning to Jamaica at least once a year, are all things that I couldn’t fathom living without. Oh, and let’s not forget constant reggae or gospel (nothing else) and your family yelling your name and not knowing if you’re in trouble until you get there because of the aggressive nature of the accent. Or the fun little phrases that never made sense when you were a child but somehow stick with you like “if yuh can’t spell fire yuh can’t beg fire,” or “if yuh want good yuh nose have to run.”...
Read the rest HERE!
Comments