Coming To America - Lyonel Lumarque

I was born on a beautiful Caribbean island called Haiti. I grew up a very happy child; I remember times of laughter in our household on a daily basis. I was an only child for almost 10 years but I was not alone. I lived in a house with all my extended family, Grandma, my uncles and aunts and all my cousins. I knew we were a special family because we were the only ones I knew that grew up that way, it was pretty awesome! I didn’t have the typical upbringing that everyone here is used to; I grew up without a father – I have one, I just don’t know who he is – I didn’t really feel a void because all my extended family was there for support and guidance in my upbringing. My father figure in the house was my uncle Jacky, one of the most brilliant minds I’ve had the opportunity to glean from. He really encouraged me to be myself no matter what anyone else thought. Uncle Jacky, I am grateful to you forever!

I moved to the US at 14 when I went out for a boat ride with friends and fell overboard. I had to swim and thought I was being chased by sharks! I did not stop until I reached the shore… Just kidding! I could not resist that one –ha-ha!! Actually, my little brother and I moved here to live with my mom and stepfather in Brooklyn, NY. Wow! What a shock that was, here I am in a new country full of stuff and opportunities that I could only imagine as a kid and I only knew how to say my name in English! I went to work with my stepdad after a week living here. I worked as the emergency line operator for his electrical contracting company. My job was to answer the emergency line and direct the emergency and non-emergency calls to the proper departments. Remember, I spoke no English! That was one of the funnest (yes, I know that’s not a word) jobs ever! When people called and I gave my greeting, I just listened for a pause on their end and simply asked “Is this an emergency?” If they answered anything other than “yes or no” I kept repeating the question until I got one of those answers.  I then read the instructions to them according to their answers and hung up the phone. I really enjoyed that summer! I learned how to speak English by watching Sesame Street and M.A.S.H.  in the afternoon and I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners with my mom every night before going to bed.

One of my first defining moments came during this period. I started high school on November 27^th, Monday after Thanksgiving. Because of my age, they wanted to automatically put me in as a freshman, even though my transcripts clearly showed that I should be a junior. I argued my point to the best of my ability (language barrier did not help) and they settled on me being a sophomore. I was determined to prove that I belonged in a higher grade even though I had no idea how I was to do it! I excelled in all my classes immediately, even English (I could not speak fluently but I could read and write very well) and caught the attention of some of my teachers and coaches, my math teacher in particular. After I shared my story with him, he took it upon himself to help me prove to the guidance counselors that I should be moved up in grade. After passing a series of tests, I was given the opportunity to be a senior the next year with a stipulation that I take Junior English and History/Government classes as a requirement to graduate. I was ecstatic! I was finally realizing my goal… then the blow came: my parents bought a house in East Orange, New Jersey and we were moving in at the end of the school year. Everything I just worked so hard for all year long was taken away in a single move! I was now going to have to spend 2 more years in a different school, in a different state before I could graduate. I was devastated but I never gave up on my goal.

That summer, after the move, while going back and forth to my stepfather’s office to work, I found a solution: stay in my current school in Brooklyn, NY and commute to East Orange, NJ! I thought it was brilliant and simple, everyone else thought I was crazy and stupid – go figure! I spent the next few weeks convincing my parents to let me try. They finally agreed with a few rules: No excessive tardies, no missing classes, no drop in my grades ( I was only allowed A’s and a couple of B’s) and I had to find my own way back and forth to school. I jumped at the opportunity, not realizing exactly what it would take to accomplish that task.

·         My class schedule was from 7:30am to 3:30pm. I had no homeroom, recess or lunch hours because they were all being used to make up classes I needed to graduate.

·         I was on the track and soccer teams and I did not want to give them up- I went to all meets/events and practices which were immediately after school.

·         My commute each way was 3 ½ hours. From home I caught a bus to a train just to get to NYC; from there I caught 3 more trains and a bus to get to my school. The opposite going home.

·         When we had track meets they usually were not done until late hours especially during indoor season. Instead of getting home around 10pm which was usual after practice, I would get in typically between 1:30 and 2:30am. Homework still had to be done and I had to be back up ready to leave by 4am to get to school on time the next morning.

I’m proud to say that I graduated with Honors that year. Was it tough? Oh yeah! Did I want to quit? Almost every day! I just didn’t know how to quit so I kept moving forward, I kept telling myself “Give it one more day and see how it goes” and I wanted to silence my critics. I learned a valuable lesson during that time that still serves me well to this day: I can accomplish ANYTHING if I want it bad enough and I think outside the box! There’s always a way, sometimes we just don’t want to pay the price. I was willing and I paid it and I’m glad I did.