Senegal, the West-most country in Africa, is a very important place to Amina Beye (11). For her, it’s a place of history and brings up fond memories of family. 

Beye gets her Senegalese descent from her dad because that’s where he was born and raised, and it’s also where her parents met when her mom went on a trip to Senegal. Then, her parents went to the same college in Indiana where they fell in love and later got married. Today, she lives with her mom and her six other siblings, while her stepdad lives in St. Charles, not too far away from them. She also has one other sibling that does not live in the house and two other siblings that live in Jamaica. She’s also moving to Jamaica this spring, but surprisingly, it is not what she would have chosen. Nevertheless, she is still making the best of her situation and finding the fun in it. 

“Jamaica is a nice to visit because we get to go to resorts, have fun times with family, go tubing, swim in the ocean, and pet sharks,” Beye said. “But, where we are moving is not near the school and it’s basically in the middle of nowhere.”