Upbringing taught Shenseea money management
Where there is often dissent about the single-parent family construct, STAR of the Month Shenseea is grateful for the lessons she was able to take from her unstable circumstances. Now a single parent herself, the aspiring international entertainer continues to make her past experiences positively impact the way she manages her life and career.
After moving to Kingston from St Elizabeth as a toddler with her mother, whose career led her away from the household for extended periods of time, Shenseea was raised primarily by her aunt. The young musician also spent time with other relatives.
“If I gave too much trouble with my relatives, they would send me to a next relative and that don’t work out, then send me to a next relative ... and when the relative dem done, dem cyaa put up wid me, I’d be on my own,” she explained, noting that she has never met her father.
From an outsider’s perspective, some could describe the relationship Shenseea has with her own mother as emotionless. “I would say, mi nuh get a certain type of love from my mother. It’s rare that she’ll hug me and tell me that she loves me. So when people do that to me, it’s like, ‘Why yah be so mushy?’,” she said.
BIG BUCKS ON SHOES
Shenseea believes that if she was shown this ‘certain type’ of parental affection, perhaps she wouldn’t be the person she is today. In fact, there are lessons from her mother’s limited presence which informs the way the rising dancehall star leads her life now, particularly with money management. Having previously admitted to a weakness for spending big bucks on shoes, Shenseea is more miserly than young starlets are often assumed to be. This is testament to often being left to her own devices as a growing girl. “Growing up, my mother wasn’t really there. She did a lot of live-in jobs, so she would come home every two weeks. Sometimes, I would be on my own,” Shenseea told THE STAR.
“She would leave lunch money and put stuff in the house, so that’s where it comes on to management — where I know how to manage my funds to make it last, really stretch it. That’s where I get that from, being on my own from quite young — time after time,” she continued.
While there was some lessons in how she grew up, Shenseea said that she wants things to be different for her son.
“But when it comes on to my son, the fact that I’ve been there from the start, I know what I wanted to get from my mommy. I make sure give him everything and more. I hope he’s not ungrateful, I’d be really heartbroken,” she said.