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Kayleigh Witty ♦
Hi, my name is Kayleigh Witty and I’d like to take you on a journey down my street as I show you true beauty. On my street, people with diverse backgrounds and characters live side by side and stand together.
I moved to Star Aapple Street at the age of three with both my parents and my two older siblings. We moved here from the Piccini area in Belmopan into our newly built house. I’ve always loved the size of it. It’s a medium sized one-story home with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and living room that somehow manages to encompass all the love, laughter and trials within its walls. As for my bedroom, even though it’s not the biggest space, I repainted the walls and my mom allowed me to express myself through my paintings and posters. So far I have a colourful bird, my favorite quotes, some flowers and an alien.
My dad works as an agronomist, so we have many different plants such as coconut, banana, soursop, lemon grass, basil, oregano, and aloe vera in our “rainy season” backyard garden. Every time the rainy season begins, my dad brings out the garden tools, and we all are supposed to know it's time to dredge and prepare the soil for the many seeds he’s brought from work. By the middle of the season we would reap sweet peppers, habanero peppers, potatoes, pineapples and many more.
Food is a universal language, and in my neighborhood, it can be a thank-you, a welcome, a get well soon, condolences or congratulations. Celebrations are something to share and bond over. On my street we have East Indians, Creoles, Chinese, Mestizos and Jamaicans. Many times we would exchange cultural dishes such as hudut, black dinner, curry chicken and mooncakes on designated cultural days or just as a courtesy. When dishes are exchanged they are never returned empty.
Each and every resident within this neighborhood has experienced poverty or hardship at some point in their lives, so we try to help each other out. My parents came from families that had just enough to survive and have had to work for everything. This is so for most folks of their and their parents’ generations. Sitting under his open tent where he sells the clothes his wife brings from the States, one elder shares stories of his childhood struggles. Most of the time I can relate to them and share my own experiences to receive his wise advice. Over the years, he and his wife have adopted the role of my grandparents. They are warm, caring and loving.
Under the 4pm shadows, we teenagers gather to invent worlds, tell stories and share secrets. We always tell stories ranging from home problems to made-up horror stories our older siblings told us to get us to leave them alone. I’m always glad to have people my age around me. They support and grow along with me.
A neighborhood like this is quite difficult to find: one that raises each other. A place where people empathize with each other and share their resources. A healthy body. That is true beauty, don’t you think?
Photos by Kayleigh Witty
Kayleigh Witty is a first-year natural resources management major at the University of Belize. She lives in Belmopan and enjoys reading.