Born. Bred Ga Dead Bahamian who is kamille ryan?
By: Kamille Ryan
Born. Bred. Ga Dead Bahamian.
Who exactly is Kamille Ryan? Nobody has any idea who I am. I don't always know either. "Mrs. Ryan’s daughter" or "Oh, you're Kwesi's daughter," was how everyone addressed me. It's been an adventure growing up in the Bahamas. Was it a positive experience? Yes, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It made me who I am today. But for now, let's go back to the beginning.
March 5th, 1990, no I’m playing, I’m not that old. March 5th, 2003, at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, The Bahamas, I was born to Kwesi and Tennille Ryan. This was probably the most rewarding experience for them because they got me. I am the best ever. Let’s fast forward to when I went to K5 at Kingsway Academy. This was one of the best moments in my life. I met my best friend of 14 years. We are still close to this day. Honestly, I believe everyone in my class was jealous of our relationship because one we got into trouble and someone went and told my mother. Yeah, let’s just say that didn’t end well. She made me read ALL NIGHT and trust me that was a day I will never forget. During my primary school years, it was kind of normal but boring. However, I was a musical prodigy. By grade six, I was playing about three instruments: the piano, violin, and the recorder obviously (it was mandatory in my music classes). I was doing extremely well in my classes but often had difficulties in Reading Comprehension. After turning eleven, I graduated from primary school and was about to enter junior high which was grade seven. My graduation day was one of the best days of my life, to be
completely honest. Walking across the stage, getting my diploma and, seeing my parents and grandparents happy was by far an amazing experience. After graduating from Kingsway Academy, I was moved to a very small school called New Providence Classical School. To answer your question, no it wasn’t a music school. I’ve been asked that question many times if it was. Grades seven to nine were a blur. I noticed myself changing a lot. I started not to be myself. I was getting into trouble with my teachers, even though most of the times I didn’t do anything. In grade nine, I finally changed and became the true Kamille. Mind you even though I was getting in trouble which wasn’t too often, I was still passing all my classes with a 3.7 - 3.9 GPA. We had to also prepare for the national examinations known as the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) which we had to take and pass with at least a C. Additionally I did meet my next best friend, Ayisha in this grade. At first, we hated each other. I would tell my mother every day, “I een never gern be friends with that one,” and she told her mother this as well. Now look at us today, best friends for about five years. I don’t think I would have passed high school without her because we always turned everything into a competition. Honestly this was the best thing for the both of us in the end. In grade ten, I made another best friend. Yes, I have three best friends and I wouldn’t change anything about it. Actually, I have more because I consider anyone who has changed my life or cares for me my best friend. Anyways, her name is Jhiecel and she is from the Philippines. She had just moved to The Bahamas. I was the first person to talk to her and from then on, we’ve been together. Ayisha, Jhiecel, Vera, and I were extremely close. Vera is also a Filipino who I met at this school. We met when our headmaster decided to move us into the 12th grade class because we were let’s just say smarter than them, except Vera. Sadly, she left when we moved to the 11th grade, and she moved back to the Philippines. The 11th grade consisted of a whole lot of drama - drugs, police, and suspensions. Yeah, it is too much to explain. Let’s just say I
was suspended because of it all. The suspension was later removed from my records and it was just said to be an early break because I did nothing wrong. Then Covid-19 hit and everything changed. 2021 finally rolls in and I thought this was going to be the best time of my life. We were still online for the beginning of the year and later went hybrid and that’s when it started. The drama and unfortunately I was a part of it, and honestly, I hated it. I just wanted to graduate and leave the school. On May 28th, 2021, at 11 a.m., I graduated as the Salutatorian of New Providence Classical School and that was by far the most meaningful day of my life, better than my sixth grade graduation. I was finally able to see the real Kamille. Besides everything that was going on with Covid, my parents separated after nineteen years of marriage. This was by far the hardest thing I went through in life. It is forever implanted in my brain. It was hard to hear that everything that I thought could be happening was actually happening for real. Finding out that your father was cheating on your mother on and off for twelve years was heartbreaking. I always thought he was because of all the movies I watched. I would be thinking, my father acts the same way. When my mother told me this, I was 18 years old. I cried because I thought it was my fault my mother was never able to leave my father and be happy again. I remember going home and sitting in my room and wondering, why? Why did he do this if he said he loved my mother? To be honest, everyone thought I was a daddy’s girl, and I was spoiled when, it was his way for me to be on his side.
Now, I had to go off to college with all of this playing on my mind. It wasn’t easy and I thought I had found people in my freshman year who understood me. Unfortunately, I didn’t. I just found people who constantly hurt me every day, who made me feel as though I wasn’t a human at all and that I was just a stuffed animal sitting on a bed. Through all of us, I realized that I don’t need them because I have people by my side that care and love me for me. I am so grateful for them, and I wouldn’t be me without them. So, again you may ask, “Who is Kamille Ryan?” She is a strong independent woman that has been through a lot to lead her to this point in her life. She is the future graphic designer. Everything I’ve been through up until this day has made me the person I am and nothing is going to change.
