I still remember when the Usher Confessions CD came out. It was in the year 2004, and I was in the 6th grade. I had gotten the CD for my birthday, but I had to share it with my brother, because we wanted the same CD. There was one song that stood out to me on the album, but it never made it to the radio. It was towards the end of the disc, track 12 I believe, and it was entitled ‘Simple Things.’ The song was about how people usually forget the simple things in life and it stressed that money cannot buy love. It’s funny, because I never fully understood the meaning until my recent visit to Guyana, and I also added on my own meaning. Money cannot buy happiness either.
As you all probably remember from previous speeches, my family is of Guyanese descent. My brother and I had heard so much about Guyana, but never experienced any of it first hand until last month. December 27, 2009. That was the day that was marked on our calendars for months in advance. The day that my brother and I begged to change to flight to, because we didn’t even want to spend Christmas in a different country. It was the day we boarded the plane for nine days away from home, and everything that we were used to.
Since our flight was not until 6 o'clock in the afternoon that day, we had plenty of time to overpack and anticipate the flight during the daylight. Now, going to Guyana is not a straight flight, our first flight was actually to New York, at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. We landed there around 8:30 PM, still in our jackets, scarves, and gloves from Atlanta’s cold weather, knowing that it would come in handy in New York. 'One flight down, one more to go,' I thought after we landed, but the flight to Guyana wasn’t until midnight. Great... Way to start of the trip.
From looking at all of the elderly people in our gate, and listening to my mom crack jokes, I began to develop an idea of what to expect the next morning when I landed.
“You see only old people come back home to Guyana,” my mom laughed, “The youth just stays in America when they get their chance to leave home.” My mom hadn’t been back to Guyana for over 20 years, so I took her seriously. Nonetheless, I was still beginning to get anxious about finally getting to go to Guyana, and I didn’t care whether it was a country full of old people or not.
As anxious as I was, the five hour flight comforted me. I slept through the night listening to Kelly Clarkson, and woke up to breakfast on the plane. Sweet.
‘This is it’ I thought when we landed, and exited the plane by climbing down stairs leading outside into the breezy, and more humid air of Guyana. I couldn’t help smiling and looking all around me. As soon as my feet hit the concrete, I took out my camera and started taking pictures of the 'Welcome To Guyana' and 'Happy Holidays' signs, like I’d never seen such things before.
When we walked into the airport, I noticed and immediate difference. For one it was smaller, the lines were longer, and it was obvious there was a lack of technology, and every airport process moved slower. My brother and I looked at each other and just sighed. We sighed all the way until we got outside where the mosquitoes and heat immediately began to attack us Americans. But then, all of a sudden we saw a lady, who strangely resembled my mom, that was yelling her name. It was her sister, sister-in-law, and brother. Family I thought, and my usual smile returned to my face.
They were all so nice in helping us get settled in, and the crazy, left-side of the road drivers didn’t even bother me that much. On my first day in Guyana, I must’ve met more family than I’ve even met before in my whole life. I never knew how little family I actually had in America.
Honestly, it was pretty different to me at first, and all I wanted to do was sleep some more, and change out of my hot clothes. I thought that sleeping would solve my problems. Sleep would take care of the mosquitoes, the heat without air conditioning, and the awkwardness of meeting new people and not knowing what to say…. But I couldn’t sleep all day… my cousins wouldn’t let me.
My older cousin Devina, shook me awake and told me to get up and meet my cousins… and I listened willingly, it was like I already knew her… it was like I knew everybody in a way. It was like being in class with the same person all year, but never saying anything to them until the year was almost over…. And my year was almost over. I knew that with college next year, there would be no telling when I’d be able to visit Guyana again, and I began to make the best of my trip.
It turned out to be the best vacation, ever. The weird thing is, I couldn’t even begin to tell you what I liked most about it. Most of the time we just played cards, dominos, and watched TV, but the presence of so much family was amazing. Being able to leave the doors open all day until it was time to go to sleep was amazing. Walking down the street and seeing goats, cows, chickens, roosters, even the ducks we kept in the backyard was amazing. Imagine it. Fresh fruit in the yard, homecooked meals, family, and appreciating the more important things in life. Doesn’t that sound… amazing? I did not want to leave. I didn’t want to go back to Georgia, to school, to AP calculus, to Trinidad and catch our flight to Atlanta. I just wanted to stay and play another round of dominos and mark my points down on the side of the table with a piece of chalk.
After spending the night in Trinidad, just with my mom and brother, and we caught our plane back to Atlanta, Simple Things by Usher came up on my iPod, and it made me do more than just bob my head this time. It made me think of my family not only in America, but in Guyana as well, and how happy both are, regardless of the country and the fortune of it. Going home with one less suitcase, and a heart full of gold, I listened to Usher say,
‘It’s the simple things in life we forget. You hear her talking, but don’t hear what she said. Why do you make something so easy so complicated? Searching for what’s right in front of your face, but you can’t see it.’
I'll upload some videos and pictures from the trip a little later, but what do you think (if you took the time to read it lol)? I'm considering about using this speech for and upcoming speech-off.
- Kim
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