Most people have never heard about Guyana before. It is a small country with a population just around 700,000. It sits quietly at the edge of the South American plain with Suriname, Venezuela, and Brazil at its borders. It is the only English-speaking country in South America. I am proud to say that I am a Guyanese.Â
Guyana is beautiful. It has one of the world’s largest preserved rainforests, the world’s largest one drop waterfall, and fantastic cultures from at least seven different ethnic groups. Guyana also happens to be a third world country.
A lot of developed countries have the idea that third world countries are below poor, are at war, have most of their population living in poverty, constantly have a ton of natural disasters, etc.
I have made quite a few friends who live in developed countries and their first impression of me was: “Must have had a hard life,” or “Didn’t have access to proper health care and simple necessities/etc.”
This is the Third World Brand and I plan on breaking away from it. I am not going to let a generalization and stereotype hold me back from becoming what I want to become and succeeding in life.
I have dreams and hopes and goals just like everybody else, and when people try to deter me from pursuing them just because of the type of country I come from, I don’t allow it to get to me. My main goal in life is to prove everyone wrong.
This should be a lesson learnt by everyone; No matter what country, family, area, or background you come from, you have a choice to do what you want with your life.
You are not cursed with genetic bad luck, you are not branded with failure, you are blessed with the choice of change.