People would always say I was bookish and corny. I never even thought I could do anything cool until I wrote a memoir.

People would always say I was corny as a kid and as a teenager even in my 20s, even now some people would say that. I couldn’t dream of being cool. The same goes for my mom. She came to this country when she was twelve years old from Guyana  and she went to Hunter College where she got her BSN and her MPH. She has another Master’s degree. My mom is an amazing woman! She’s a nurse. I am proud of my mom. I am writing a memoir I call Ayesha’s Story. It’s the coolest thing I have ever done. People became interested in my story and said things like “Ayesha you shared a lot” or “I was interested in memoirs like yours about mental illness specifically Schizophrenia”. I was always serious and focused on school even though my ending GPA was a C average I was a serious student, I just had a serious mental illness to live with. Schizophrenia is very difficult and has the most stigma of any mental illness. I am thankful for the way my parents and family brought me up. Corny or not the upbringing I had made me the person I am today. My values, my belief in God and how I see myself all came from being love unconditionally by my mother and what my parents sacrificed for me. I’m greatful that I can still count on my parents and my family to have my back and to be supportive of me.  Even now that I’m 35 years old!