But instead of crumbling under these circumstances, Shiffana has survived, walking an admirable path. She has emerged like a dazzling butterfly out of a crusty cocoon, and she is today shaping herself to be an instrument of inspiration for other young Belizeans. An up-and-coming track athlete working to hone her athletic prowess, Shiffana dreams of out-running even Belizean Olympic star, Marion Jones.

Shiffana?s positive example and prudent advice came into sharp focus when she was heard on national airwaves at the recent children’s rally held on Friday, September 8. One of the admonitions she made to her peers then is that they should listen to their parents.

Having lost her mother at such a young age, the nostalgia she feels for the days she spent with her mother, Dorla, has cemented in her mind the need for children to put more value on the words of their parents, especially while they are still alive.

Shiffana is now an orphan, as her father, Argent Tillett, passed away in 1992 when she was a mere toddler.

But God has sent her another guardian she has come to bond with, her cousin Josephine Flowers, the vice principal of Edward P. Yorke. Shiffana also attends school there and is now in her fourth and final year of the academic arts program.

One of Shiffana Flowers’ personal goals is to always remain in the top ten in her class and to keep her demerit card clean. Tough task, right? But she has succeeded, for the most part. According to Shiffana, during her first two years of high school she got more than her share of demerits for things like chewing gum in class and sharing homework with classmates.

Second form was a real wake-up call for her, because she also disappointed herself by falling to 21stplace in second term and for getting what she confesses were too many demerits. At first, her teacher told her that she had placed sixth in the class, but later confessed to her privately that it was a mistake?she had actually slipped to 21. Shiffana’s heart sank.

Instead of abandoning her lofty goal of always placing in the top ten, Shiffana Flowers was determined to bring herself back up. It was hard work, she said, but she still managed to meet her target of emerging in the top ten by the end of the second year of high school.

She?s learned a hard lesson about the consequences of slacking off, though. Now, she’s trying to stay focused on her schoolwork, but also on her blooming success on the track.

The junior athlete remembers stepping on the track as early as age nine. It wasn’t anything she took seriously then, but when she won a set of medals as a student of St. Mary’s Primary School in the Primary School Track Meet in 2003, she realized that her legs could take her a long way.

So she stuck with it, and today her training routine consists of three workout sessions on the track – one each on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and two sessions in the gym – on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Apart from that, she plays with her high school volleyball team.

Each year since 2003, Shiffana Flowers has gone beyond Belize’s borders to compete. She chronicled her experiences as follows: In 2003, she went to Costa Rica and won silver for an 80-meter race. In 2004, she won bronze in the 100-meter and 200-meter races and silver in the triple jump. Most recently in August, though she did not come home with a medal, she set a new record for herself of 12.52 seconds in the 100-meter race. (She still has to trim her time by a couple seconds to beat Marion Jones.)

But despite her shining successes, the hollow left inside this young girl’s heart from the loss of her mother still makes its presence known on occasions, especially when she does not feel love from others.

She recalls her mother usually being at home when she was alive, caring for her family and keeping much to herself. She said that since her mom was not too strict, she took her for-granted at times and even went out to play when her mother forbade her to go.

It is the outpouring of affection that she gets from family and friends that diminishes this hollow in her heart. Shiffana says that on her list of hobbies, right next to watching television and reading, is spending time with her family. She has two brothers, Shannon and Michael, and two sisters, Alma and Shirani, who still live on Cleghorn Street, where they lived with their mother.

Her nucleus of friends includes her classmates – Shanalee Amon Linda, Lodawn Steven, Alicia Kareem, and Symone Dorothy; her cousin Shadyah El-Amin; and friend Stacey Pope of Belmopan.

Shiffana said that a lot of young people fall victim to peer pressure, but she doesn’t. That’s why she keeps positive friends who will encourage her in the right path, she added.

And where she eventually wants that path to lead is – yes, on the track racing Marion Jones but also perhaps in the courtroom representing a client, or maybe nurturing some of Belize’s most promising minds.

She does not have many role models, but she wants to earn a Master’s degree like her guardian, Josephine Flowers, in the least possible time, she says.

This young lady has set her aspirations high, and she said that the reason why she watches the company she keeps is that she does not want anyone to spoil her good reputation and distract her from her mission in life.

"I have a lot of dreams," she asserts.

Next on her education agenda is 6thform and then from there, she’s taking the expressway to obtaining her Master’s degree. She hasn’t quite decided which profession she’ll pursue, but she has plenty time to study her options.