A gifted student at some of Haiti’s most prestigious private schools, Jean Paul nevertheless succumb to the ennui of middle-class adolescent life, which manifested itself in acts of vandalism and, later, bullying. His merits as a student shielded him from serious disciplinary action until one day, his luck ran out. Releasing insects inside of a packed classroom landed him in the headmaster’s office and earned him an immediate expulsion from the institution. Further, his myriad infractions prevented him from gaining admission to any of the other private, secular schools in Port-au-Prince. But his father, a man of some means, was able to secure his place in a local private school. Jean Paul considers this to be a fortuitous event, as, in that moment, he vowed to turn his life around.