There is a thought that has been on my mind lately.
Perhaps Curaçao's greatest challenge is not changing who we are or becoming a different people.
Perhaps our real challenge is discovering which parts of our past we should carry into the future—and which parts we can leave behind with respect and gratitude.
I came to that realization by reflecting on my own life.
I am the son of a bus driver who worked every day to provide for his family, earning a few guilders at a time from every passenger he transported between Otrobanda and the rest of the island.
My father always bought his buses from the same local dealer. But unlike most people, he did not make monthly payments on his loans.
He paid every single day.
Whatever he earned that day first went toward paying for the bus. Whatever remained paid for food, the household and everything else the family needed.
This was not a lesson from a business administration textbook—the same subject I teach my students today.
This was survival.
It was character.
It was responsibility.
My mother also played her part.
After finishing her work at home, she would sit behind her sewing machine late into the night.
Women would arrive carrying fashion magazines filled with dresses they dreamed of wearing but could never afford to buy in expensive stores.
My mother turned those dreams into reality.
One stitch at a time.
One night after another.
Today we would call that entrepreneurship.
Back then, it was simply a mother determined to help keep her family on its feet.
We grew up with very little.
But we never grew up without hope.
My parents believed in one thing that I did not fully understand during my teenage years.
Education was the only real path out of poverty.
That is why they constantly pushed us to study.
I did not understand it immediately.
In fact, I failed several times in secondary school.
But they never lost patience.
They never gave up on me.
They kept believing.
They kept encouraging me.
Until, in my early twenties, everything finally clicked.
I left for the Netherlands to continue my education.
There I discovered that life could be different.
I met my life partner, someone who had grown up in a completely different environment—well-educated parents, greater security, more stability and more opportunities.
Only then did I truly understand what my parents had given me.
They did not leave me wealth.
They left me something far more valuable.
Resilience.
Discipline.
Humility.
Perseverance.
And the understanding that while you cannot always choose the cards life deals you, you can always choose how you play them.
Today I am retired.
I have a stable life.
And I can look back with pride.
Not with bitterness.
Not with anger.
But with gratitude.
Because I experienced the transition from simply surviving to making things happen.
That experience changed the way I see Curaçao.
Perhaps our island is going through that same transition.
We do not lack talent.
We do not lack intelligence.
We do not lack creativity.
Our challenge is something else.
Many of the habits that helped us survive in the past do not necessarily help us continue growing today.
Personal relationships mattered because institutions often did not work for us.
Improvisation was necessary because systems frequently failed.
Depending on family was logical because there was no broader safety net.
But today's demands are different.
The next step in our development as a people may be the transition from surviving to building.
From relying on individuals to strengthening institutions.
From doing favors to following rules.
From improvisation to quality.
From thinking only until the next election to thinking about the next generation.
That does not mean abandoning our culture.
On the contrary.
Our warmth.
Our creativity.
Our sense of community.
Our resilience.
These are exactly the qualities we should carry into the future.
But there are also things we should leave behind—with gratitude.
Fear.
Distrust.
Mediocrity.
Jealousy.
And the belief that poverty is simply something we must learn to accept.
Our children deserve more than survival.
They deserve opportunity.
They deserve schools that lift them up.
They deserve leaders who build for the future.
Life has taught me one important lesson:
You do not have to leave your entire past behind in order to move forward.
But you do need the wisdom to decide which parts of your past are worth carrying with you—and which parts are best left behind.
To me, that is Curaçao's greatest challenge.
And perhaps that is the true meaning of "The Blue Wave."
Not another change of government.
But a change in consciousness.
Our parents taught us how to survive.
Now it is our turn to build the future.
"I did not escape poverty because I was better than anyone else. I escaped it because my parents never stopped believing in me until the day I finally started believing in myself."
Orlando Meulens
Columnist