My name is Danielle Jean-Pierre. I'm a six-foot-tall, dark-skinned, curvy and big-bottomed Haitian-American woman living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. I study business at Algonquin College and I am twenty two years old. I've been in the so-called Confederation of Canada for about eighteen months. Next year, I will enrol at Carleton University to get my bachelors. I'm originally from the City of Chicago, Illinois. I can't stand Canada but I know why I'm here. My education, of course. Why else would a young Black woman leave the diverse City of Chicago in the state of Illinois for cold-ass Ottawa in Ontario? Yeah, that's what I thought.
The life of a Butch Black lesbian in this world is never easy. I'm queer and hail from a deeply conservative community. The Haitian community of North America isn't well-known for its tolerance of gays and lesbians in its midst. Being short-haired, athletic and wearing guy clothes made me an outcast. I don't give a fuck. I have to be me. I'm a Butch woman of Haitian descent. Deal with it. I like women. And I don't hide it. At Algonquin College, I met this cute chick named Christiana Joseph. She was handing out flyers inviting some of the students to All Nations Church, this African congregation in Ottawa. This five-foot-six, long-haired and light-skinned young Black woman is a student at the University of Ottawa. A really gorgeous gal who took my breath away the first time I laid eyes on her. Did I mention she was also Butch like me? Yep. Christiana is short-haired, athletic and very tomboyish. Like me, she avoids dresses, makeup and girly stuff like the plague. And she doesn't seem to like femmes, which is cool. We're both oddities in the queer community, folks. Butch women who like Butch women.
Christiana seemed to like me too. We hung out off campus, watching movies and playing basketball. Christiana was born in the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia but raised in the City of Boston, Massachusetts. She came back to Canada for the first time in ages to attend the University of Ottawa. She has dual citizenship, since her father Jacob is Haitian-American and her mother Jeanne is Canadian. The Canadian schools were very glad to have her, so much that they charge her regular rates. Since I'm a U.S. Citizen, they charge me international rates. Damn all of those fucking Canadians! Sometimes I really hate this country. I hate hockey. I hate maple syrup. And I hate living in a so-called Capital City without a working train system!