How It All Began

I descended from a very big family where Caribbean music such as reggae and soca played a big part in why I am music major at Florida Memorial University. No one in my family are musicians. Most of them where carpenters, house-sitters and bus drivers. Needless to say the reason I developed a passion for the major that I settled to pursue today.

My mother was an aspiring singer and my father always wanted to learn to play the piano. Not sure what kept them back but after spending little time around them I got to understand why I decided to take up music in college.

I love music primarily because music most of the time never fails to cure when I am struggled with my studies or challenges.

It was very tough back home in St Lucia to decide what I wanted to pursue as a profession. I would sometimes day dream about being a million things in the world including a professional athlete or even a chef for instance my dad who is a chef.

After living in for twenty years, I decided to return to New York City to follow my passion. I took up music production at Queens Borough Community College. Unfortunately, I became fond of the technical aspect of the program so I changed my major to Performing Arts in music. I kept music performance until I came across an online article about Florida Memorial University located in Miami, Florida. The article was about the steel pan music program at the school and the United Negro fund (UNCF) was in the process of donating funds toward the steel pan music program. I wasted no time in gaining the necessary information that I needed to enter the music program at Florida Memorial.

After arriving to Florida Memorial that is when I started missing a lot about the islands. Although the weather was very hot and most of the palm trees and vegetation reminded me of “back home,” I still felt uncomfortable. It’s like I was lost in a different planet or zone. I didn’t

have my mother or father, aunts or uncles to lean back on. I didn’t make friends at first, so the big question on my mind was “how was I going to make this new experience fulfilling without the support of my family?” Believe it or not, my instrument was part of the answer to that question. It was the reason I wanted to move to the U.S. to further my education in the first place. I still didn’t have it figured out yet. The next big question was how I’m I going to succeed and excel in a state that I had never visited or lived. Eventually, I became friends with my professors when they understood the struggles I was going through mentally and financially. Thinking positive became part of my routine prayer; “put God first in everything that I do and shun away negative energy was what gave me strength to rise above negativity.”

I’m proud to say my instrument and my club swimming experience has taken me a long way. I played steel pan as a hobby but I’ve seen diversity about the role this instrument plays in everyday living. And to top it off, I get to practice when I need to and still enjoy the warm weather that I favor so much. I have made many new friends who enjoy my playing. My father always reminds me to stay focused and my mother inspired me by encouraging me to do what’s in my blood. I thank them so much for being the core part of my life and loving me as a son and a true friend. Now i can use this experience to formulate my business.