Sorry

My name is Bramhs Louis. I was born in Haiti. I am 15 years old. Today I will share my story. I can say than I have spent almost my entire life with my father.  My family represents much to me.  In my family there is one tradition; it’s the day when Haiti received independence on 01/01/1804. The people of my family say “you must work”.  This gives me the courage for work. Haiti is a country that has a many problems. One of the problems is the poverty.  Every day I think of my country which has a beautiful past, and I become sad seeing the country degraded and becoming poorer.  It’s very sad, but our culture remains the same.  We love voodoo, the music, and the rara. Every time I tell my story, I remember when I rode the bike for first time, because I can say the life is like a bike.  The more you pedal the more you advance in life.  If I could predict my future, I would choose to be an engineer; I like that. Among his children, God gave me grace; I can’t say that I am perfect, but I can say than I am so happy.  Sometimes, I am not so happy, because other children suffer, but I am happy to tell my story.  I am also happy, because I am here with my friends, and I am learning about a new country.

I could say life is like a trip on a train: you go up and down, there are accidents, at certain stops there are surprises, and at others there is a deep sadness.

When we are born and we board the train, we meet people and we believe they will stay with us throughout the trip: they are our parents! Unfortunately, the truth is different.

At some point, they descend into a station, and they leave us without their love and affection and without their friendship and caring.  In any case, there are other people who get on the train who will be very important for us.

They are our brothers and our sisters, our friends, and all the wonderful people we love. Some consider the trip as a promenade.

Others find only sadness during their trip. There are others present and always ready to help those in need. Some, when they go down, let nostalgia hold them forever.

Naturally, no one can prevent us from searching for the ones lost all over the train. Others go up and down, and we have just enough time to pass. We are surprised that some passengers whom we love sit in another car and let us travel alone. Sometimes we cannot sit next to them, because the place is already taken.

It does not matter . . . the journey is like that: full of challenges, dreams, hopes, farewells – but no return.

Try to make the journey in the best way possible.

Let us understand our neighbors travel and look for the best in each of them. Let us remember that at every moment of the trip one of our companions can wobble and may need our understanding.

We too can falter, and there will always be someone to understand us. The great mystery of the trip is that we do not know when we go down the train forever. We do not know when our travel companions will do the same – even one that sits right next to us. I think I’ll be sad to leave the train. I’m sure!

Separation from all the friends I met on the train will be painful, let alone my relatives. But I am sure that sooner or later I will get to the train station, and I will see them all come with baggage that they did not have when they boarded the train.

I’m happy to have contributed to increasing and enriching their baggage. We, my friends, do our best to make a good trip and try to leave a good memory of us as we go down the train.

To those who are part of my train, I wish you a safe journey. Thank you.