The first thing that pops into the mind of most people when I think about Spanish Town, Jamaica is crime and violence. Majority of the times when you tell people that you are from Spanish Town they automatically assume that you are caught up in some form of illegal activities. Starting high school I was told that since I'm from Spanish Town I must have seen people being killed or I must have bad man friends. The same label followed me to university as well and the sad part of it all is I just got used to it.    I attended the St.Catherine primary school in the heart of the capital and had to deal with the crime and violence several times. It grew with me until the point where it didn't move me at all. The fact that I attended high school and university in Kingston meant that I had to travel late hours at night. The fear was always with me as I didn't have any friends who lived in the same community as I did. However, I overcame it all and grew to become accepting o

So you can't find the time or you just rather turn on your television screen and watch a movie. Well, there is nothing that can bring you greater comfort and bring your imagination to life than getting lost in a good book. Don't have the money to travel or you have a small social circle? A book can give your mind the opportunity to travel around the world and fall in love with various characters.   Step 1📍 Find a book that appeals to a certain situation that you are facing in life. Start off with a book that is relatable. A book that perhaps will give you guidance to deal with a situation or to overcome a problem that you are facing. Step 2 📍 Don't rush yourself. Take the time you need to get into the frame of my mind to become a lover of reading rather than having to force it. Start off reading a couple pages a day until you get yourself in the rhythm and before you know it you will develop the habit of reading. Step 3📍 Form book clubs so that you will have others to en

You spent sleepless nights, worked several jobs, borrowed millions in loans. You stand on that glorious day to collect the fruits of your hard labour. You are ready now to take on the real world and let your mark be seen. Pause! What did university really prepare you for? You don't know how to do some of the simpliest things in life. How do you look about housing? How do you look about insurance? How do you know when you are getting the best deals? Who do you run to? You run to your parents and they ask you if you didn't learn all of this in school. Throughout the many years of your university life you learn many things as it relates to passing your exams to get your degree but when it comes to practical things for everyday life you are still clueless. When you get lost in your university life you need to remember that the real life is going on all around you and it will not wait for you to play catch up. The next thing you are faced with after graduation is the la

For many years I heard about to kill a mockingbird but never had the opportunity to read the book itself. A couple months ago I decided to read literature books that I never read in school and were just laying around the house. I came across to kill a mockingbird and fell in love from the very first page. Harper Lee use of imagery and creativity with words captivated me from the very start to the end. The book has motivated me as a writer to learn to step out of the box and now allows me to learn how to make every single character's story as intriguing as the other. The talented Harper Lee's work is what is needed in writing today. Many authors have fallen into just grabbing any attention first and foremost rather than bringing a beautiful story to life. If you haven't yet read this beautiful book I encourage to do so now. The young characters in the book showed me that the youngest of individuals strength can capture the hearts of an entire community. Thank you Harpe

   During the recently concluded World Championships Jamaica celebrated with our athletes for their great performances. On several occasions however, some were criticized for failing to deliver medals.i sat down and read the feedback of some of my fellow brothers and sisters. The thought then came to me, are we more critical of our athletes than we are of our political leaders. The super talented Javon Francis was criticized for not carrying the 4*400 team to a medal, despite running the fastest leg of anyone on any of the teams. We have our political leaders on the other hand who continually make promises and pretend to be caring but never live up to their promises. They are however still given other chances to continue to disappoint or their disappointments are quickly forgotten. If as Jamaicans we are going to be critical of anything we should choose to be more critical of those who have control over the affairs of our beloved country. Our athletes train everyday, make sacrifices to

For a week or two when Olympics and World championships takes centre stage the entire Jamaica is sent into a sea of excitement. We can't contain ourselves as we wake very early in the mornings and stay up late at night to support our athletes. The streets are filled with Jamaicans showing just how much our athletes mean to us. For that week or two, the problems that face our country are forgotten. Feuding amongst political parties is forgotten, social barriers are forgotten and the only thing that matters is ensuring that we get to watch each and every event that our athletes take place in, While watching the championships we can see the Jamaican colours in the stands each and everyday. The pain and struggles that we face each and everyday are placed behind us as we stand up and beam with pride as our athletes place our country on the world map. Over and over the negatives take centre stage but when our athletes dominate the front page the true strength and loving Jamaica

  Amongst the numerous accounts of the negative behaviour of young people in Jamaica, several Jamaican young people continue to stand out and are making their mark being felt both locally and internationally. Today, I sat down with poet and author Christena Williams to get some insight into her life and how much poetry means to her.    -Christena Williams What was your family background like growing up?   I grew up in Portmore otherwise known as “ sunshine city ” in a small community with my mother and three brothers as my dad left us when I was about one or two years old. He moved out to live with another woman leaving us practically in an unpaid house, bills unpaid, no furniture and such so you know we were what you would call poor. I however didn’t know that we were poor because my mom a disciplinarian was very strict with us. We were not allowed to visit neghbours   house as I think she wanted to protect us. She  didn’t want  us  to feel ashamed of ourselves and our circumstances.