I think all my 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation immigrant kids, as well as fellow mixed kids, understand me when I say that we tend to not really appreciate the gems of our family’s origin (in my case “origins” as Jamaica is just one of many) till we are wanting to actually value and own our OWN uniqueness. (PART 1/2) One of the first things I remember being taught about Jamaica as a kid is that its country motto is, “Out of many, one people.” As a hyper mixed kid that has always felt as if i’ve been floating in between cultures, people, and groups, I think that’s an incredibly beautiful credo for an entire nation to live by. My grandma and mom sharing that with me early on was soothing to me. The idea that in my DNA is a culture that understands the beauty of diversity, cultural combinations and the beauty that comes from that? Wow... enough to get me through years of peers, people and systems wanting and demanding I conform to a simple box. I’ve always enjoyed being a little unclassifiable, a little weird, a little more romantic and poetic than the usual, but this trip was what I needed to really remember these parts of me are constant and are always here... even if they’ve been a little watered down or muted en route. This really just started as a reflective voicenote and turned out to be more. Now it’s a visual snapshot of paradise from me to you 🌹Jamaica September. 2019. Shoutout to these humans and spaces for making it extra special @hampdenestaterum @visitjamaica @skylarknegril @barneyabishop @dolphincoveja #jamaica