Jamaican Ish

When I was seven years old, my family immigrated from Jamaica to the United States. From day one, it was evident that America was a place filled with opportunities; you just work hard, get educated, and aim for success. 

Doing this also meant leaving some parts of my Jamaican culture at home or in Jamaica altogether. I had to talk properly, no more patois (Jamaican dialect). I had to move and operate as an American, and that’s what I did. I didn’t want to be negatively judged or told to “speak Jamaican” everywhere I went, but it still happened, and I felt extremely embarrassed about it. I tried not to eat cultural food outside the house, not dress in bright colors. Every Jamaican stereotype that I was aware of, I did my best to avoid.

What struck me was that my Jamaican-American friends whose parents were Jamaican immigrants did the exact opposite. They wanted to speak patois, dress colorful, blast dancehall and reggae, and proudly wore their Jamaican identities, to the point where I started feeling like I wasn’t Jamaican anymore, just Jamaican-ish.

As I’ve gotten older, I realized that imposter syndrome was what led the charge in why I felt Jamaican-ish. I am Jamaican; this is a significant and substantial part of my identity. The more I started to accept and embrace this the better I felt, the more confident I felt. I knew others probably felt this way so in 2014 I created Caribbeans in Tech and Entrepreneurship which has now become a nonprofit organization to support other caribbeans. 

Today I stand as a proud Jamaican Woman. I talk, dress, eat, and live how I feel comfortable. 

In the end we must all embrace who we truly are and rise up to meet ourselves and our purpose. 

Watch this pitch I did in 2019 for a Forbes Magazine project called Forbes8. The program has since shut down but I appreciate the opportunity I got to share my story.