Sunday, December 15, 2019

Timeline of Teachers


I would be severely ungrateful if i allowed the curtains to close on the night and not make a post 

dedicated to my teachers. I have been shaped by many many hands! (No, this 185lbs of 

awesomeness did not develop overnight). 

My educational journey begun at church! Yup, sabbath school. At the age of two (2) 

my mother was asked by Mrs. D. Campbell, to send me to church so she did. 

I learnt several lessons in Sabbath School, shed many tears too. Because i was never 

accepted in the cliques that were there. My Sabbath School teachers still play vital 

roles in my life. They taught me the most important lessons i'd ever need to learn. 

They taught me how to be faithful in what i do, they taught me how to lead; with the 

let task that the gave me over the years, they gave me exposure but most 

importantly, I was taught how to trust God even when the odds are against me. My 

Sabbath school teachers are still important to me; to be honest i share a oving 

relationship with them still. 

 As the years flew by it was time to move on to basic school; you know ABC's and 123's 

are important! I attended the Effortville Basic School, the foundations to my

numeracy and literacy skills were properly laid, I must make special mention of 

Mrs. D . Campbell (Stalwart); she's a influential, respectful woman. She is a dream 

shaper, she was the first person to be me behind a microphone and i've loved it ever 

since. My basic school teachers were awesome! I love them Mrs. J. Garrick, Mrs. A. 

Esberry-Grey, Mrs. Rose, Mrs. Thomas and all the teachers at the Effortville basic school. 

After acquired the basic numeracy and literacy skills it was time to move on and 

expand  my knowledge. (I graduated valedictorian of my basic school class by the 

way). I moved on to the May Pen Primary school, i transitioned very well, i had an 

awesome grade two teacher Mrs. Gayle, and amazing grade four teacher Mrs. 

Thompson. While, at May Pen Primary i was in the G stream (bright class on the red 

tie shift) up until grade six (6). Yes, it look like my grades fell. I was a bit devastated

but i enjoyed the class that i was in, that's where i met my best friend Danielle 

Falconer. Danielle and I passed for the most prestigious high school in Clarendon, 

Denbigh High School. During my Tenure at this noble institution, I encountered some 

phenomenal women; since this post is entitled a timeline of Teachers its best if I 

start at grade 7. Fresh out of primary school, full of energy i met Miss Bent (now Mrs. 

Christian). She stood approximately 5ft 6 inches tall, relatively fair complexion, tall 

hair and bright eyes. Though she was short in stature, her voice was as tall as the 

twin towers. She was stern and meant business! Science was her specialty. Miss Bent w

is a woman of order, discipline and excellence! She instilled this philosophy in us; It is 

not my aptitude, but my attitude which determines my altitude in life. To this 

date, that quote lives with me (thank you miss). With this quote embedded in my 

heart I have approached life positively. 

Miss Bent did something for me i don't even think she remembers.  While we were in 

first form, she had a little artificial flowers on her desk that should be taken to the 

biology lab every evening and taken back to the class every morning. She placed me 

in charge! Man, I took pride in carrying out that duty; I would run for it in the 

mornings and hurry to carry it up after school. Out of this i can safely say it taught

 me the importance of being responsible. Mrs. Bent-Christian I would like to thank 

you; thank you for being awesome, thank you for the punishments that you 

gave to us (who could forget those evenings picking up garbage and writing 

lines lol). You are still prized in my heart as important. Thank you and i wish you 

many more successes in your teaching career. While carrying out my little task with 

the flowers in first form, i met a teacher in the biology lab name Mrs. Battiste. I 

fell instantly in lived with Mrs. B and wanted her to teach me so badly. But lets wait 

hear more about Mrs. B later on. 

I moved on to grades 8, 9, 10,11 and 6th form  man I so rough days, tearful days, 

hungry days but that side of the story is for another blog post. Throughout the

teachers such as Mrs. Gordon-Denton, Miss. Webb, Mr. Annakie, Mr. Sitladdin, Mr.

Johnson, Mr. Elliot, Mr. Dawkins, Miss Clayton, Mrs. Clarke Miss. A. Thomas, Mrs. 

Rose-Campbell, Miss Mennel, Mrs. I Mchayle, Mrs. Palmer. Man! they were all 

awesome. I must make special mention of Mrs. Chambers-Brown and Mrs. Battiste, 






Monday, January 2, 2017

Know When To Leave The Party

The hype!
The Rave! 
The Sense of belonging ! 
The feeling of excitement!

All of the above are reasons we tend to over stay our welcome at  events or in other people's lives. We want to associate with others so much that we cling and tag along with them for extensive periods even when they abuse us emotionally and don't want us around anymore.

I love excitement! I thrive off social interaction (even though I love my space), when in social gatherings I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that everyone enjoys themselves, with laughs and activities - failing to realize that I am draining myself for people who don't even like me! They just tolerate me. I am known for holding on to people and things that are detrimental to my heath - but, I've left the party. 

I encourage you to Know when to leave the party; by this I mean:

- Know when someone is using you.
- Know when people dont want you around.
- Know your limits.
-Know when you've have enough.

- Know when to leave the party.


Remember: 
"When others dont celebrate you; learn to celebrate yourself" 

I have left the party.


- Elvy Soltau (Blogger, Writer, MC, Motivational Speaker).

What if I fly?

It is natural to think about the worse case scenario but when we allow negative thoughts to consume our lives, we begin to live our fears instead of our dreams. You see, our thoughts are very powerful- they slowly become words spewing out our mouths. We hear these thoughts frequently, they become actions; actions practiced forms into unbreakable habits. It is advisable to dwell on the success of your goals rather than the possibility of failure. Who am I to write on this topic?

I have lived my fears far too long, forced myself into thinking I am not talented, I don't have any time, I am not creative enough, they're gonna laugh at me, failure to invest in my art. Failure to invest in personal development and failure to take advice from others. But, in the middle of 2016 I asked myself What if I fly? I kept focusing on the possibility of failure; it sucked all my energy and I finally asked myself - What if i soar like the eagle? Who am I not to  succeed? Why do I fail to develop my talents? 

The year 2016 has inspired me to shift my focus and to challenge myself to fly.

Wouldn't you like to experience the world from above, instead of in it or beneath it? 
I watched as a few young people, my age and younger excel in all areas you can imagine and its my turn now. 

Are you asking yourself, What if I fly? 

2017 has taken off already, I hope you'll soar higher and higher as the days progress.

- Elvy Soltau (Writer, Mc, Motivational speaker) 

I will fly.


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

The Elegant Slave

It's 8:30 am!!

Honk! Honk!

You're trying to beat the traffic to arrive early for your 9-5. But stop! You don't even like this job!


A century and eight decades ago there was a great demand for workers within the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations and that my friend was the beginning of slavery within the Caribbean.

  Slavery is referred to as the condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and where they work. Slavery, was primarily beneficial to the owners and the individuals in bondage were treated like properties instead of humans.

 It was all celebration and joy when the curtains came down on slavery in 1834 in Jamaica. But did it? Yes! The physical shackles came off. Yes! The lashes stopped, but did slavery end? To this I loudly scream NO!! We are free physically but are still enslaved by the system. I will borrow the coined term "Elegant Slave" and use it to describe the phenomena I am about to discuss.

Elegant slaves because instead of ragged cloths and barefoot out in the sun, we are now clothed in three piece suits. We get dressed daily to clock in at a jobs we are dissatisfied with to generate more income for someone else. We sacrifice so much to keep our employers happy and meet their impossible deadlines. We sacrifice quality time with family, we sacrifice our own dreams, we often tend to sacrifice even our health.

We're bond to these jobs by several shackles. Shackles of self doubt. We believe that there's nothing else we can do, we're not good enough and our dreams are not worth while. We're in shackles of debts; student loans, car loans, mortgage, etc. We are in shackles of greed; we are unable to satisfy we desire the latest gadgets and fashion and must be in the 'now' so we slave on these jobs to keep up with trends. We're in shackles of the opinion of others. We're in shackles of promiscuity. We entertain the practice of having more that one partners no t realizing the implications. It cost more to maintain several relationships. It would be more beneficial to settle with one partner and build and plan for your future generations.

We're elegant slaves to a system that keeps getting richer while our financing are hitting ice bergs like the Titanic.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Fight of the Century

Ding !! Ding!! Ding!

Round one!

The most anticipated fight of the year. The undefeated champion, the social stalwart, the energizer bunny is up against the intellectual, the decisive, the spiritual and the critical thinker.

Elvy Soltau vs. Elvy Soltau!!!

Yes! Elvy vs Elvy. How can this be a competition? A competition is between two entities and cannot be between the same person.

Well, in this battle of the Elvy's the two entities are my personality/reputation vs my character. See, I have spent years being fun, energetic, loud and just all out for anything fun. Which is not a bad thing, because at one point in time that was my goal.

But recently, I have had several encounters where it was brought to my attention that  because of my personality; I am not taken seriously or considered for serious roles. I joke often, and will let loose in any social setting. Due to this practice over the years persons have form their own opinion of me and put me in a box . In Hollywood, this is referred to as type casting, example Kevin Hart and Melissa Mccarthy they play the same roles in different movies.

Now, that I have recognized this occurrence I need to get myself out of this box and let the world know my full potential. I can be of no use  while playing small.
I know others have been typecast and placed in a box; so I have drafted a list of how we can over come:
- Read more (so, you'll be well informed and can contribute to meaningful discussions)

- Speak up more

- Know when to listen

-Accept a challenge (could be something that you have been avoiding for years)

- Don't totally rebel against being typecast sometimes it is as result of great work you've done before. Therefore, learn how to strike a balance. Keep track of your own progress by paying keen attention to the work you have done, work you're currently doing and where you want to go from here.

-Let people know you are diverse and flexible.

- Be resilient.

- Have a goal in mind.


Thank you for stopping by. Go out in faith and be the #Champion you are. 

Monday, September 7, 2015

Elvy G. Soltau - Be Yourself For Others

It is a new school year, but same old pressures.

Will I fit in?

Will others like me?

Will my clothes be cool?

I'll try not to act weird.

These are the thoughts running through our heads if we are honest enough to admit. Our desire to fit in robs of us of peace of mind and the gift of individuality. We are so concerned about being in the 'In' crowd that we lose what makes us special.

I write from the comfort of my bed with joy in my heart to encourage you to today to be yourself for the sake of others! Yes! be yourself for others. Embracing your own individuality and style requires an enormous amount of  courage, plus when you are brave enough to be yourself it gives others the permission to do the same.

People feed from the energy of others; so be bold be positive and be yourself!
I have three things to share with you that I realized this morning. They are as follows:

- Others are relying on you to be positive, enthusiastic and passionate so they'll  be inspired.
- People expect great things from you; even those you think don't know your name.
- If you don't have a ticket it you don't have a chance .

While walking home from school i has having a conversation

Friday, April 10, 2015

Dear Future Husband by Danielle Falconer

Dear future husband good morning to you. Have you started working on you yet? Because I am 

working on me! I'm working on myself to be the best wife and mother there is, I am a princess now and 

would very much like to graduate from being one; I wanna be a queen and my dear future hubby, my 

king and no doubt our children will be royalty. My husband, my current king(daddy) has set a high 

standard can u follow? Or better yet prove that u are worthy to take his princess. I ask this because I 

know I can prove that I an worthy to do the same.



Dear future husband, are you out there? If you are, hey its been a while. Hope you're doing okay and

 life is treating you well.....love you until we meet


Hi future hubby!!!!! ! Hope church was wonderful over the weekend! !! Are u kindhearted? What about 

loving? But most importantly are you God fearing and genuine? P.s life is short live good n be kind.......


Dear future husband good morning whoever you are. ....if you're one of those men who still lives in the

 cave man era or back then when men and some women believed that a women's place is in the home

 especially the kitchen! !!!! ! Then sweetie I'm not your Mrs. right, equality or nothing  at all...... but do enjoy your day. ...