Senior Portfolio Presentation

Destinee Edwards
Autobiography

My father, Ray Edwards, was born in Panama. In Panama, he worked as a

Marine. My father moved to Boston in 1980. At that time, he was 28 years old. He
was forced to move to the United States by his parents. They relocated the entire
family because his oldest brother had traveled to the United States and decided to
settle in Massachusetts. His brother felt lonely, so he wanted the rest of the family
to join him.
My mother, Genetta Matanzas Light, was born in Memphis, Tennessee. My
mother migrated to Boston in 1975. She came here along with my oldest sister
Melinda. My mother was 23 years old and Melinda was 2 years old. In 1976, my
mother had another baby, my sister Cordelia.
Then in 1981, my mom met my father. My father claims it was love at first
sight. For my mother, the feeling was not mutual. She did not think he was as
serious as he claimed he was. Despite her initial reservations, they were married on
August 31, 1986. In 1989, they had my big sister Desiray.

Several years later, on January 30, 1997, they had me, Destinee Cherelle
Edwards. My mom says she did not know what to name me. However, she wanted
to name me something close to Desiray. So my sister gave her some ideas, one of
them being Destiny. My mom liked the name Destiny, but she wanted it to be
different. So then she added two es at the end. My middle name Cherelle came
from Cordelias best friend.
Growing up, my father was always a working man. He really had no choice.
My mother was often in and out of employment and had three kids to care for.
Melinda was already an adult and had moved out of the house by the time I was
born. I remember Cordelia only living with us for a few years before she also
came of age and relocated.
My father worked long nights and early mornings almost every day. When
he was home, everything was under his authority. My mom would not make any
strict decisions without his say first. My dad did all the cooking. My mom did all
the cleaning. They did not really ask much from me and my sisters, but to be home
before the street lights came on.
I never really listened though. I lived two blocks over from the
neighborhood park. Many of my friends in the neighborhood lived on the same
street as the park and had later curfews than I did. I did not want to be the first one

to go home and miss all the fun especially in the winter. So I would stay out later,
despite my parents rules. I already knew the impending consequences of
disobeying my parents. As soon as I completed my two week punishment for my
most current infraction, I would go back and do the same thing. My punishments
would incrementally increase with every broken rule. Weeks on punishment
eventually turned into month. One month of restrictions then became two months,
etc. The punishments never deterred me from breaking the rules. My homework
was always completed so I did not consider their rules relevant or rational. When
they finally got fed up with my behavior, they put me in after-school program. At
the time, the household rules seemed like my biggest problems.
In 2004, I was in the 3rd grade when Melinda died. She was always traveling
so I did not see her often. She settled in Las Vegas, Nevada and got married to this
man, David. She always made sure she called and checked in with everyone in the
household. I loved talking to her; she had a laugh like Fran Drescher from The
Nanny.
The day she died, my sister Desiray picked me up really late from my afterschool program and we had a long quiet walk home. When we got home, the
setting was so depressing and I was so confused about what was going on. When
everyone bowed their heads and my mother began to pray, I was still looking
around at the candle lights and pictures on the tables. I heard the words may

Melinda watch over us. I had to let those words sink in. I zoned out of everything
happening around me. Her prayer continued. I was confused by what she was
saying and the context in which she was referring to my sister. She spoke as if my
sister were God or Jesus or some holy entity. After finally interrupting the words
and environment, I asked, Ma, Did Melinda die?
The death did not really affect me, but I did miss the phone calls. After a
few months of not receiving phone calls from my sister, it started to actually hit
me. My mother did not tell me until years later the cause of her death. She died
from suicide.
A year later in 2005, my grandfather passed. He also called the house often.
He lived in Tennessee. He would mail pictures, posters and paintings that he had
made. I knew what he looked like and I knew what he sounded like, but I never
met him. He got really sick and was losing a tremendous amount of weight. My
mom wanted me to meet him before he died; so we packed our stuff and headed
down south. We made it a day too late. When my aunt broke the news to us, I
immediately broke down in tears. Everyone was confused when they looked at me
because I started sobbing instantly. In 2007, my grandmother passed away. I had
the chance to meet her though. She lived in the city of Lynn. We had the
opportunity to share many Christmases and many Thanksgivings. Her death did not
really affect me either.

In 2011, my best friend died and I felt like half of me went with him. I think
the impact of having deaths in my life made me more of an introversive person. I
do not initially like to get close to anyone. Do not get me wrong, I do have
relations with many of my peers and I go out and have fun. However, I am still
growing up. There are many people I will come across that can possibly get me to
open up a little.
Although I have experienced great tragedy in my life, I know that I am still
young. Life holds so many more mysteries, joys, tragedies and experiences. After
high school, I plan to join the Marine Corps. While I am here, I plan to enjoy
every moment.