WHILE MOST PEOPLE would hit a wall and give up, Nicole Howell built windows of opportunity and doors of hope. Today she has an inspirational story of triumph and self-determination to share with all young women and men.
Howell said that when she was a child her parents were not there. She was raised by a grandmother and then a great-grandmother, who did not provide the required guidance and, therefore, she struggled to properly navigate the path to adulthood.
But her strong will has brought the 38-year-old mother of one son to being not only a business owner, but the creator of a board game called Roundabouts of Life and at the beginning stages of writing a book.
Howell said there was a time when although she had a bachelor’s degree and was gainfully employed, she was not making enough to get that mortgage she badly needed to acquire a home and she was turned down six times before she finally got the mortgage. She decided to get the skills to make extra cash. She bought a lawn mower and later a weed whacker, hoe, and a rake and started cutting grass.
With the extra cash she bought some sand one month, and the next month some stone and hired a labourer to work on her home as needed. Today she has her own home.
The game Roundabouts of Life is all about taking life’s challenges and showing how the choices made to deal with them can have varying consequences.
However, Howell said at times there was some trepidation since she did not want to buy a vehicle before she got her own home, but the Lord spoke to her and told her to buy a truck. With that truck she entered the field of freighting, thereby gaining additional income.
Howell, who said she always tried to save money, so to avoid paying mechanics large sums, she went to the Samuel Jackman Pressed Polytechnic and learned mechanics and now fixes problems with the vehicle herself.
“If I cannot afford the stuff I will learn how to deal with it, so I will save money,” she said.
She also learned how to make cakes and pastries and when money was short and she was unable to make purchases for her son, she baked. She also makes natural juices.
The resourceful Howell said that when she was younger she felt the need to be loved but went about it in an ill-informed way. Now she offers advice to young women as well.
She recalled that her great-grandmother never taught her any of the important things about life – in fact, they never really had a conversation, she said. Therefore, at puberty her menstrual cycle was a big surprise to her and when it came to love and relationships she was quite uninformed.
Apart from everything else, she was told that she was ugly, so when a man told her she was beautiful she was surprised.
“It was amazing and I went with him,” she said. At aged 14 Howell met the man who would later father her son; for a short period back then she lived with her father, but he said he could no longer support her financially and left her totally dependent on her son’s father.
That man became abusive, she said, and she decided that she needed someone to love her and for her to love them back. It was then that 16-year-old Howell got pregnant, but seven months later the relationship ended.
“He gave me inspiration to go on; he gave me something to work for. I would not advise young women to do the same thing now, but at the end of the day he was my little motivation,” Howell said.
Additionally, her basic needs were not met and at school when she did not have lunch a teacher helped her out and that led to her getting assistance not only with lunch but with bus fare and school clothes.
“I never wanted that for my son and I swore I would never repeat it. I wanted three children but I decided that I would not have any more children unless I had my house and I did not want them out of wedlock,” she said. Since she is not married she has only managed to fulfil that dream in part.
Thankfully, a former teacher saw her potential and gave her a scholarship to start her studies. From there she has continued to pursue her education. After having left the Roebuck School with no qualifications, today she is about to complete her online master’s degree in business administration with the University of Roehampton.
“I invested a lot of money into myself because at the end of the day I always told myself that nobody will ever leave me vulnerable again and when I do not have it I will invest money into learning it,” Howell said.
She said another part of her focus was on getting her son to be a responsible adult who can take care of himself if she is not there, and he is well on his way to that. The 22-year-old is a chef and manager at a local restaurant and living on his own.
Taking all of her life’s challenges and channelling them into something positive, Howell has created a game called Roundabouts of Life, a game of choice and consequence. She said initially she was going to write a book but decided to do something different that would be entertaining and motivational to encourage people not to give up in life.
Howell, who was born and raised in Haynesville, St James, said she always told her son that he could be from a community but not of the community.
Ultimately, Howell has tried her best to make all her dreams come true.
“I am not putting it in anybody’s hands. I will do what I have to do and work. I sacrificed a lot,” she said, adding that anyone can make money and sustain themselves if they work hard.