-*sWeEtiE; [[THE LiFE OF Me]]
My name is Sweetie. It doesn’t mean much to the world but it means a lot to me. My name is my everything. It is my identity, Sweetie. I love everything about it, Sweetie. Sweetie wasn’t the name originally given to me at birth, however. I am formally known as Shamika Duckworth. I think that the name I have now fits me better, it is me. My name is very unique. It makes me who I am!
I am originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but now I live Moss Point, Mississippi. Moss Point is a world of its own, a very small world, but a world nonetheless. It is a very close knit place. Everyone here knows each other and what’s going on in everyone’s lives. Here everyone see’s the same faces in the same places. For me, this is the best the best place to be, but it is home. When you take a trip and come back you know where home is. The smell of the fish boats let you know that you are back to the coast. The sight of the little children playing, the boys on the corner, the Moss Point Express and Best Future gas stations full of people showing their outfits and cars let you know Moss Point is where you are. The taste of the rib dinners being cooked on the side of the rode are enough to make you want to stay here forever. As soon as you exit from your car or house the feel of that warm weather is like being in a blanket. The bustle and hustle of the cars and the radios blaring out of them are the best. These simple things remind me of home, where I belong.
My life is not full of excitement, but I have a few memorable times. One important event in my life was starting kindergarten. To this day I still remember everything about it. That day was one of the scariest days of my life. I didn’t know anyone and I felt like the smallest person in the building. Starting school was whole new ball game to me. Yea I had been to Head-Start, but this, this was something new. This was the day I had to turn into a big girl, and fast! I couldn’t depend on mommy to hold my hand and be with me. I was on a new agenda. By the end of the day I realized College Park wasn’t so bad after all. That day in August started out to be the worst day but by the end it had become the best day ever!
When I was in kindergarten I saw my first snow day. In Mississippi people don’t see many of those. That morning my mom and I walked out of the house thinking it was a bit cooler than usual. When I got the stairs all I saw was snow covering the ground. I was so excited I had never seen anything like it before. I ran to lay in it to make snow angels. Then, when I got to school the others students and I couldn’t learn for wanting to look out of the window at the snow. Then our teachers decided to take us outside to play in it. It was one of the most exciting days ever! I could have played outside for weeks, but whoever said ice melts?
My life went from exciting to scary in a matter of months. I was sitting in class when everyone had to go home. I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on. Then I heard that it was because of a hurricane by the name George. I then realized why my family had spent the days before stocking up on waters, batteries, flashlights, candles, and can goods. I remember sitting at home in the apartment window watching George tear the roves off of the other buildings around me wondering what would he do the same to my building. I also remember thinking what’s going to happen to us if he did. It was so scary, so horrible, so nerve racking. Either way I guess we were the lucky ones we didn’t get a bit of damage. That was an experience for me.
Being an only child at seven years old I thought that was it I was going to be the only child forever. I had it made. It was just me, the spoiled little brat. Then, my mom told me she was having another baby. Another baby! What’s going on? Why would you want another baby? Well I went hours, days, and then months asking everyday when is this baby going to get here so I could see the “thing”. It took so long! Then I was planning my eighth birthday party which I thought was going to be so fun. It was suppose to be all about me. Then, two days before my birthday the “thing” came. There was no party for me, and it was all this little “thing’s” fault. I knew right then this wasn’t going to work. When I went to hospital to see “it” right away I knew I loved “it”. Well “its” name was Jayla. She was the cutest little sister a girl could have. I fell in love with her immediately. I forgot all about the party and everything else I had going on because she was the best gift ever!
When I started high school in August of 2005 I knew it would be my best school year yet, and I was right. I loved everything about my ninth grade year. I loved the students, the school, the sports, the teachers, and the whole experience. Well I wasn’t in school a full month before the greatest hurricane of all time, Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast. It was massive. Hurricane Katrina presented the U.S. with a time to band together and that’s what we did. Even though we have many problems the country proved itself to be strong. We had never seen anything of this magnitude before. We were out of school for two months. As a student you would think that was cool, but it wasn’t. We didn’t know when we would be able to make up out days. Many of our houses we destroyed. It was truly disaster. Many people were killed, out of jobs, lost, and homeless. Eventually, however, it got better. We stuck together and fixed our problems as quickly as possible. My freshman year turned out to be just what I expected the best.
It’s August 2008 and I’m a big time senior. So many years I’ve waited for the chance to say that, the day to be that, and embrace that. It has truly been a long time coming. This has been an experience in its own. I’m grown now; at least I think I am. I am stating a whole new world. I have to change my whole attitude and outlook about life. I even feel differently. My years in school have hopefully prepared me that journey across the football field and into a new world.
My future is in the eye of the beholder. I have no idea what will happen, but I know what I want to happen. I know I want to be successful. I plan to graduate from Moss Point High School then attend Louisiana State University, LSU. I think I want to become a social worker. I want to have a nice family with two point five kids, a husband, a dog and a white picket fence. That may happen, in my dreams. Hopefully life will be great for me. I know I deserve it.
