Meal A Day

There are some people in this World; who do not know how precious it is to be in a certain position in life until they lose it.

I am McQueen Peterson. A girl from a very poor family. We were poor to the extent my parents couldn't even afford their children's "meal a day" nor our school fees.

What am I even saying? If someone cannot afford to pay for food that may cost them five to six hundred Liberian dollars, how will they be able to pay for school fees that cost them twelve to twenty thousand Liberian dollars?

We got our daily meals and education based on charity. I was born to charity, in the sense that; my parents couldn't even pay the hospital bills during my mom's pregnancy with me and my siblings. All their hospital bills were paid by the charity.

I have three siblings. I am the second child. I have a sister and a younger brother. We didn't live in a modern or luxurious house. We couldn't afford to build a concrete house. We lived in a zinc house but it was always clean.

"As cleanness is next to Godliness." My mother would always say.

Dispatch all the pains and suffering people get from poverty; I didn't mind because I knew in Christ Jesus we were rich. That's what we were told during Mass as I am a Catholic.

I grew up in West Africa, I grew up in Liberia. One of the first countries to gain its Independence. In Liberia, there is this school called St. Teresa Convent, it's on Randall Street in Monrovia. St. Teresa Convent is an all girls school that was built in honor of St. Teresa "the little flower."

All my life I dreamt about attending St. Teresa Convent. I was afraid of telling others about this dream of mine because it was believed that only the rich and powerful people's children can attend STC, as it is known to many.

During my elementary and junior high year, I attended a school with both gender. To be honest it wasn't easy for me. The school I attended back then classified women as "second-class citizens."

Boys were given all of the respect and authority, while we the females are kept at the back.

I felt hostility toward that way. I always tried my best for females to be respected and given authority.