When I was seventeen, I got accepted into Pace University and was excited to study Acting in New York City. I understood that it wasn't NYU or Julliard, but I would be in New York pursuing my childhood dream of becoming an actress. When I told my parents of my acceptance, I thought they would be just as excited as I was. I mean, why wouldn't they, they had shown support in the past and attended every play and musical performance I've ever been in since childhood. Imagine my disappointment when my Father told me he would disown me if I went to New York to pursue acting. Knowing my father, I know that this wasn't a serious threat. However, at the time of hearing this, I was devastated. How could they not support my dream? I had been heavily involved in the arts since we came to the country. I drew and painted to keep myself occupied when my parents were working. I acted like my favorite tv show characters when I had nobody to play with. I learned how to play the violin, piano, and saxophone because music understood me more than people could. I didn't just enjoy the arts, my very core revolved around art and acting was the most transformative of them all and I truly believed I could be a successful actress. However, to my parents, success looked like financial stability, and a successful actress didn't seem feasible for people that looked like us or had our background. Of course, they could name some black actors and actresses, but none of them were Haitian. They didn't know of any immigrant actors and actresses, so how could they be sure it was a probability for me? To make matters worse, we had been scammed in the past by different talent agencies that told me I had great potential. We had no idea how to break into the industry so we pursued those empty promises just for my parents to lose a lot of money in support of my dreams. Though they never made me feel bad about the money they lost, I did anyways and grew even more determined to make it as an actress. Regardless of how much they supported and loved me, they had left everything behind in Haiti to provide a better life for me. My mother went from owning her own salon to working long hours as a CNA. My dad was an accountant but worked below minimal wage jobs during my childhood to provide for the family. I've never been embarrassed by their occupation, but how do you tell the two people that love you the most in the world that their sacrifices mean nothing to you? That's what I thought going to Pace would say to them after my father's warning. So I didn't go to Pace, I stayed in Boston, got a B.S in Psychology, and a MA in Mental Health Counseling specializing in drama therapy. I spent 8 years putting my dream of acting on the back burner and entered the most depressing years of my life. I would use acting in my therapy sessions with clients and be reminded of how much I needed acting to survive. As a Black female immigrant in America, art made me feel seen. I didn't need words to have a shared experience. And as the entertainment industry transforms to be a platform that is more inclusive of BIPOC stories, I want to show my parents that I can make it and make them proud that their sacrifices were not in vain.

Album Title: Drunken Karaoke Nights Artist: Special K! (Tagline - "Cause I'm good for your health") Playlist - I Need You Now by Smokie Norful Lose Control by Missy Elliot ft. Ciara & Fat Man Scoop Jealous by Labrinth / Can I Be Him by James Arthur (These are interchangeable) Ballin Ona Budget by Dormtainment Thank You For Being a Friend by Andrew Gold (but actually the Golden Girls Theme song) Locked Up by Akon Tadow by Masego Nothing is more therapeutic than driving home after a long day with your windows rolled up scream-singing along to your favorite song. I spent seven years in higher education and I spent many nights scream-singing my way home as a way to various songs so I thought it would be difficult to only find 7 songs that best summarized my school experience. Each song resonates with the emotions I've felt the strongest and experienced the most. From exploring my faith to the endless heartbreaks I've experienced. To the most recent experience of surviving graduate school through the pandemic and not thinking I would make it through. All these songs immediately put a smile on my face because they remind me of exactly what I survived those seven years. Those seven years led to fulfilling my parent's wildest dream for their one and only child.