Ashton Usher, aged 22, Belize

Waking up early one morning, I arise to my father’s voice, “Wake up, let’s go!”

Quickly I jumped up and went outside to help him cut and rake the grass, sweep the driveway, wash the car, bathe the dogs and collect some fresh eggs from the chicken coop. When we were finished, I showered to freshen up for the rest of the day and mothers breakfast of eggs, fried beans and Johnny cakes.

The day was already getting old and I had so many things to do. I went over to a friend’s house to plan the day. Other friends arrived, soon there were 10 of us.

“I smell a football match,” I said. We started to play a five on five. The game got more exciting by the minute. We were all laughing and happy as we ended with a 4-4 draw. We were all tired form the intense game and sticky with sweat and dust from the field.

We looked round and knew what the others were thinking. We jumped on our bikes and rode as fast as we could to the seaside. We wasted no time taking off our shirts and jumping into the cool azure Caribbean Sea. We swum around until realizing we were hungry.

Too lazy to go home for lunch, we spotted a mango and coconut trees close by. We set up teams, half for mangoes, and half for coconuts and eat our fill of these delicious fresh fruit. Some went home but a friend and I jumped into a nearby row boat to fish. As we found the spot where the silk snappers bite we heard the sound of drums muffled by the waves across the bay along with a terrible screeching voice. We weren’t sure what we would witness, and excitedly brought the boat back to shore and rushed to the nearby park.

Instead we saw a huge man in the uniform of our defence force carrying what resembles a large wooden divider with brass tips. In a thunderous voice he was shouting commands to a hundred soldiers and some policemen. “What’s happening and who are you?” I asked a man sitting inside a green coloured vehicle. He seemed bored but replied, “I am the sergeant major’s driver and we are rehearsing for the Commonwealth Day Parade in a few weeks”.

“I thought we were independent”, I said, to which he replied, “Yes we are, but this shows the world we are not alone”.

After enjoying my evening meal of my mother’s cooking, I lay in bed happily reflecting on the driver’s remark, that indeed Belize is privileged to be a part of such a large group of like minded countries enjoying similar freedoms, warmth and friendship as I did with my friends today.