Series 1: Family & Friends
The feeling of visiting my beloved Liberia after 17 long years…wow so speechless and heartwarming! As the saying goes, “there is no where else like home or home is where the heart is.” This statement is very much true in its meaning, I have been homesick for all these years but found a comfortable way to cope with my feelings until I could not resist the urge any longer. So friends sit back and relax as I take a lifetime trip down memory lane!
My journey out of Liberia began during the Fall of 2004, when my family and I immigrated to America (Providence, Rhode Island) from Liberia. I remembered the plane ride just like the years have never gone by, oh I was so excited about a new life full of greater and better possibilities, but also nervous about adjusting to my new adopted home (America). On that chilly and breezy Fall day, I walked off the plane and through immigration personnel, baggage claim stations and finally a warm hugs from family members that have left Liberia when I was a baby…oh wow! Cheers to the beginning of a new life of hope, dreams and working hard to accomplish my life goals! I was promoted to the 12th grade upon my arrival in the States and went on to graduating high school at the age of fifteen without being placed in a lower grade which is always the norm for most students from other developing countries, but God knows how I burn those candles and sleepless exam nights studying. I know you are guessing if I skip a grade?
Absolutely right, in Liberia when I started my sixth grade school year, I got promoted to the 7th grade mid-semester due to my good grades and very high GPA. As a result, I passed to the eight grade at the end of the school year at the Len Miller/Salvation Army School System which I attended from Kindergarten. After my promotion to the eight grade, I left Len Miller and enrolled in the Joseph Jenkins Roberts United Methodist School which I attended until my departure for the States. Oh how I was so sadden about leaving my friends, all those fun school days memories and most especially not wearing my senior year neck-tie…I was looking forward to the first day of my senior year so happily, but God had another great opportunity unfolding for my family and I as we left Liberia. So, I graduated from high school and enrolled for my undergraduate studies at Rhode Island College majoring Finance and Computer Information Systems. After graduating college at the age of nineteen, I took a year break to start my professional career and later enrolled at Salve Regina University Graduate School and earned my MBA with management concentration.
As I started my professional career during the heat of the 2008 US recession, I worked odd and temp agency jobs, volunteer my skills to many organizations for work experience, but I never gave up hope and kept pushing forward knowing that a brighter day was ahead. If one door was closed, I found another one to open or even a tiny space through the window lol…networking myself to the bones. Eventually, I got a decent start off gig and my life took off from there and the years went by so fast. I got engaged to my now husband, Wroty , relocated from Rhode Island to Texas during the Fall of 2012, advanced my professional gig, then we got married in the Summer of 2014 and now parents to two precious children (Mendell and Kelsi)….my life, proud and joy!!
During all the busy and precious moments in my life over the past seventeen years, I have never one day forgotten about my birth land, Liberia. I daydreamed about my childhood and early teen days like it was yesterday. Thank goodness for social media, I have kept in contact with my family and childhood friends in Liberia until my reunion in June 2021. I wished I had visited my homeland before seventeen years went by, but my life was always occupied with life moments, educational journeys and professional ventures. As the saying goes, there is time for everything I knew within my heart that I visited at the appointed time by God.
I arrived in Liberia on a very rainy night, safe and overjoy to finally step my foot back on the soil of West Africa! My vacation to Liberia was a very bittersweet and busy packed trip but I have no regrets. On the night that I arrived in Liberia, one of my aunt husband suddenly passed away so sad indeed. I went to sympathized with her in Owensgrove, Grand Bassa County and also honor my departed grandparents gravesites to show my love and respect. Secondly, one of my two living grandmothers, I visited during the weekend and got a phone call at the beginning of the week notifying me that she has departed this world. I was sadden with grieve and heartache, but was grateful for the opportunity to have seen her alive for the last time in my life. RIP Uncle Jethro and Grandma Magdalene…forever in my heart.
That was a difficult moment to revisit, but as the saying goes there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. The sweet part of this trip was reuniting with my childhood/school friends of twenty plus years, family members, visiting my former communities and so amaze by how everything have changed over the years. The most memorable and fun part was going to locate my last living grandmother in Johnsonville, Liberia and based on the direction my aunt provided, I ended up in Brewerville and got a chance to see other areas of Liberia that I never plan on visiting such as Dorla, Clara town, Logan town, West point, Jacob town, New Georgia, Caldwell, 72nd community and more! Shocking right, yes indeed I got a tour of the town and I had so much fun for such a short trip. Finally, I found my grandma and melted away from her warm embrace and was so excited meeting my aunties and cousins. Lastly, I had the opportunity to meetup with my scholarship students and was impressed by these intelligent future leaders of Liberia.
In the twinkle of an eye, my vacation had come to an end as I prepared to leave my beloved Liberia for the States. On a rainy afternoon I sat outside my guesthouse suite watching the downpour of rain from the sky (so therapeutic and relaxing), just reflecting on my life journey from Liberia to America seventeen years ago and asked myself if all the dreams and goals that I left the continent with have been accomplished? And the next thought on my mind was what have you done for Mama Liberia and what contributions are you passing onto the next generation? I hope and pray that God provides me with the answers to these questions as I navigate the next chapters of my life journey! I will forever be grateful to Mama Liberia for molding my mind and giving me a chance to view this world and life from a different microscope; one that kept me inspired, refreshed, motivated, humbled and most importantly being compassionate to others. My simple message to all young and talented Liberians in the diaspora is visit home and invest in the different sectors of the Liberian economy. If you are visiting for business ventures, you will be energized by the countless opportunities. Also, if you are returning to pinpoint issues the country is facing, just make your list and remembered that we need you onboard with solutions as well. I went for business ventures and left rejuvenated about the endless options my country presented .
A special thanks to Eagle’s Landing Apartments for my accommodation and all those who assisted me with my daily agendas and visitations! Thanks a million!
I hope you are not hungry yet…lol…thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for series 2 – I will focus on the local Liberian cuisine I enjoyed on my trip, visiting the food markets, shopping for some goodies and a memorable trip to Red Light aka “Mud Nation”…oh how I like the muddy paths and dusty roads…..
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