AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Erline Andrews and I think Jimi Hendrix, the man BC Pires calls the best guitarist of all time, is overrated.

I come from John John, Laventille, where my mom and I lived with my grandparents and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

I live now in Millennium Park, Trincity, with my mom.

I don't feel any great need to have a family. I’m a unique person.

This is not a boast. And its not easy for me to get along with people unless I pretend to be what I'm not, which I'm not willing to do.

At Holy Family pre-school with my cousins, they called us the Brady Bunch. At St Christopher's Preparatory, (another) private school, I encountered children of all ethnic and class backgrounds.

I was considered very bright. Teachers' only complaint was that I was too talkative.

At St Francois College, my first all-girls experience, the student body wasn't as diverse. I would hang out with one Indian girl in my form one class and talk about rock music.

(After UWI) in my early 30s I went to Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

I always had friends as a child, but I certainly don't make friends easily now.

But I don't really try.

People like when you seem genuinely interested in what they have to say.

My family are believers but I don’t think I ever really believed God existed, but I really started to question it around age nine.

My mother used to make me kneel and pray, "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon this little child." I barely understood what the words meant. I used to say "pity my simple city" instead of "simplicity."

At my religious schools, students would pray at the start and end of the day.

By age 13, I didn't believe, but didn't admit it to my mother and stepfather until I was 18. There was a scene.

My mother hasn’t accepted me as “a godless sinner.” But what else can she do except carry on and ignore? She hopes I'll see the light.

My favourite book is Catch-22 and I loved Beautiful Thing, a gay coming-of-age romantic film.

But I don't think anything brings me more joy than music and discovering a new musical act I like. It's like falling in love.

I actually don't listen to my favourite artists that much. Even more rarely music I liked as a teen. I don't listen to the radio.

Dancing is very important. I dance in the kitchen listening to music.

Carnival is one of mankind's best ideas: to have a period where everyone can go out in public and be free from judgment. Dress how you want. Behave as scandalously as you want.

It annoys me when people share Carnival videos and photos (to ridicule) other people. That's breaking an unspoken agreement.

My favourite soca artist is Lord Nelson. He's a bit weird and that's right up my lane. There's a lot in his discography that surprises and delights me. One of his songs has a guitar solo! The only soca song I've come across with one.

My mother had a Newsweek subscription and I used to love reading it. I looked forward to reading Rolling Stone magazine at the library.

I love in-depth writing sh