Ms. Sujayla Collins, teacher of English 9 and 10 Honors, is a very thoughtful, intelligent, and admirable individual. Ms. Collins had a childhood unlike many others. For the first 10 years of her life, she lived in Cuba as an only child with her mother and father. She also lived with her grandparents, establishing a very close relationship, as she was their first grandchild. Sadly, Cuba was and still is a restrictive place to live. Ms. Collins’ father wanted the best life possible for his family. Therefore, he decided to leave Cuba. One morning, at 3:00 A.M., 10 year old Ms. Collins was woken up and told to get dressed. She got into a car with her mother, father, grandparents, and a driver she had never seen before. They drove in the dark with her mother and grandparents in tears. Ms. Collins did not understand why they were in tears until she arrived at the airport.

She got out of the car with her mother and father and left her grandparents behind. It was when they crossed the gate that she discovered that she might never see her grandparents again. The reason Ms. Collins was not told about leaving Cuba be-
cause her parents feared that, as a child she might mention fleeing Cuba to other people. If anyone
found out, she and her family would be arrested. Ms. Collins and her family left absolutely everything behind. There was no suitcase or bag with them. All they had were the clothes on their backs and a little portfolio in which her dad carried their passports and paperwork. The most difficult thing about leaving Cuba for Ms. Collins was leaving her grandparents. Before moving to the U.S., they lived in Jamaica for four years. Ms. Collins and her family had to start a whole new life in a new country. The hardest part for Ms. Collins moving to Jamaica was the language. She had to learn English, which only took her three months. After those four years, Ms. Collins and her family finally got the opportunity they’ve always wanted: a chance to move to the U.S. Although it was a great opportunity, Ms. Collins had to give up everything twice. She left behind the life she built in Cuba, made a whole new life in Jamaica, and had to leave her new life behind again. All she could think about in her 14 year old head was that she had to do it all over again. She had to make new friends again, go to a new school, and most importantly, she had to establish herself again. When she first arrived, she remembered her father getting on the ground and kissing the floor. He and her mother worked very hard for that moment. When Ms. Collins started school again, she quickly realized that she had a much higher education back in Jamaica than they have in the U.S. She had to learn how to work in a new and slower school system.

One day, long after Ms. Collins and her family moved to America, Ms. Collins had the opportunity to see her grandparents again. She flew her grandparents to the U.S. to live with her for six months. She was 22 when she saw them again, and they were unrecognizable to her. It had been so many years. Her best memory of her grandparents in the U.S. was giving her grandparents the opportunity to watch her college graduation.

She got married and soon had two boys about 15 months apart after working as a reporter. It was difficult to excel at her job and be there for her kids as much as she wanted. Because of this, with her major in English, Ms. Collins decided to become a teacher. She wanted to join LHP be- cause she had a gut feeling that this was the place for her. She could tell that everybody on campus
was very passionate about what they do, and she wanted to join a faculty with that environment. Ms. Collins now has two sons and one daughter. She enjoys gardening and being out- doors. Ms. Collins finally established and built herself, as well as the life she deserves.