Happy Birthday Auntie Luzette. Love you.

Years, ahm decades ago while a student at the St. Joseph's Convent Kingstown, I sang this song in a choir. We had all heard the song before, but, it was the first time many were actually listening to it. I know none of us has forgotten this song. Emancipation is not simply about freeing people from physical captivity. Many of us are caught up in relationships, jobs... that do nothing for us. We find ourselves trapped in situations that destroy our happiness, or very souls, yet we are afraid to let go. We hold on to past hurts and allow ill feelings towards others to fester. There is a famous quotation that says if we hold on to anger it is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Emancipate yourself! Free yourself of that situation, that person, that feeling that has you in bondage, and once you have done so, keep on doing so. There are no overnight fixes, or success stories...just people who one day realized that their happiness, their freedom was worth fighting for and they never stopped fighting.