Rowland Steve cocom was a mischievous child. His mother would send him to the market to sell food, but he did not have patience so he would either eat the food or give it away. Then he would tell his mother that someone robbed him. Eventually, his mother caught on and stopped sending him to the market. Rowland considered himself to be honest and blunt, but some people thought he was just rude. In fact, so many people called him rude that he soon became known as "Rudy."

Rudy was born on January 20, 1967, in a small country in Central America named Belize. His home was in Benque Viejo del Carmen, the westernmost town in Belize at the Guatemalan border. Rudy had dark hair, like his mother, except his hair was curly. He had the same skin color as his mother and grandmother and shared the same birthmark in the middle of his forehead. Rudy also had dimples one on his cheek and one on his chin.

Rudy was from a poor family and found joy in simple things. He like listening to music, preferably hip hop and Soca. He loved his dog Rex, who was a German Shepard. He looked up to Rambo because he was a fighter, Danny Zuko, because he was cool, his uncle because he had a profession. He liked playing soccer, basketball, and marbles with his friends. When he was alone, he found himself playing trompo.trompo. 

Rudy lived in a small house made out of metal zinc. The house had one bedroom that needed curtains to create individual rooms. The kitchen and restroom were outside. There was no electricity. Instead, they used gas lamps and candles. As for the cooking, it was done on a fireheart. Though he was poor, Rudy felt safe because he could walk on the streets and no one would hurt him, he could leave his toys outside and no one would not steal them.

His small home housed his great-grandmother, his grandmother, and his mother. His mother would cook a traditional Belizean meal, which consisted of rice and beans, salad, and chicken. He would sit and eat with his family every day and be thankful for what he had. On special occasions like Christmas, his mother would make food and even though they were poor, she was still able to get Rudy a set of clothes. For his birthday, his mother would always bake him a special cake. Despite his economic situation, Rudy was a happy child, mischievous, with a heart of gold. Then one day his great-grandmother was terribly ill.

At four years old Rudy did not understand what was happening, he thought his grandmother would get better. Rudy asked his mother, "Is she going to be ok?" His mother turned to look at him and in a soft voice said, "No, go and see her." Rudy rushed to his great-grandmother's side and asked her, "What happened" she said, "I’m going to pass away, I’m sick, and I can’t take this pain anymore." Rudy went back to bed and the next morning his great-grandmother had passed away.

The day of her funeral Rudy heard wonderful stories about his great-grandmother. The story that stuck to his the most was when his mother told him the story of how his great-grandmother traveled to Belize. "It was during a war." His grandmother said, "Your great-grandmother and great-grandfather lived in Guatemala, there was so much violence, your great grandfather decided that it was time to move and look for a better future somewhere else."

Rudy was fascinated by the story and asked his grandmother to tell him more. His grandmother smiled and told Rudy "It was very hard, at first, your great-grandparents did not have any family or friends outside of Guatemala, they started with only the clothes on their backs." As his grandmother recounted his great-grandmother's hardships of coming to a new country, Rudy looked up at his mother and promised, that he would grow up to be someone amazing.

By the age of four, Rudy was already able to read a few words before he even started school. Rudy was also able to write a few words, but his handwriting was crooked, and he could not spell very well, so he preferred to read. In 1972, Rudy started school in Benque Viejo Del Carmen Pre-school. Rudy loved it, that year there was his best year in school because he felt that he was learning.

In 1972, Rudy's family moved from Benque Viejo del Carmen to Belize City. In Belize City, he went to school at, Wesley Lower Methodist. The first day was hard on Rudy because at his old school everyone spoke Spanish and at his new school everyone spoke English. It was a struggle at first, but Rudy was smart and was able to pick up the new language quickly. Rudy was learned to read by using sight words. By the age of six, Rudy was able to read and understand what he was reading

Rudy’s mother, Ermelinda, would read to Rudy when she could. She would usually read him stories about the Bible, but on occasion, she would read him one of his favorites. His favorite book was The Three Little Pigs; he also loved Little Red Riding Hood. Rudy liked to listen to books about rescuing people, and about history. As a young boy, reading was very important to Rudy; he would read the newspaper for his mother when she was too busy and read the Archie comics when he was alone.

Around the time he was eleven years old, in 1978 Rudy was told about The Jonestown massacre, where more than 900 members of an American cult called the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide-murder under the direction of their leader Jim Jones. Rudy did not understand why so many people died, when he asked his teacher, she replied that "Jim Jones killed all the people so they could go to heaven with him." Rudy was still confused, but he was never one to ask questions in school, so he let the subject drop.

Rudy was desperate to learn and was still at the stage where education was important to him. That soon changed, at Wesley Lower Methodist Rudy's mischievous and caring personality made him very popular among his classmates, his best friend was named Ralph. Soon Rudy was hanging out with a particular crowd who did not like going to school. Still, Rudy would go to school and try to learn. His Fifth-grade teacher, Ms. Mary would take time and read to the class, it was the only time Rudy liked school anymore. Ms. Mary would encourage reading and created a classroom library, but since it was not required, Rudy did not feel the need to read.

Rudy stopped considering himself a strong reader; every time he tried to read he would fall asleep. When Rudy sought to read, he would come across a word he did not know, instead of asking for help he would say "skip it" and try to continue. Eventually, he would give up reading the story. One day, Rudy was on the docks when an older man asked him for some help. The older man told Rudy, "If you help me turn a wheel and help me get this boat to the deck I will pay you." Excited Rudy agreed to help the older man. Rudy made six dollars that day. Every day after that Rudy would skip school and go directly to the shipyard. Since he was making money, Rudy did not want to return to school.

Rudy had a dream of becoming a police officer; he thought that police officers had respect, money and friends. He was well on his way to achieving his goal until he was forced to repeat the fifth grade. To eligible to be a police officer one must first pass sixth grade. Rudy had to repeat fifth grade, but he was disheartened and refused to return. Ralph had to repeat the fifth grade as well, but Rudy was embarrassed that all of his other friends went on to the next grade. His mother tried to force Rudy to go back to school, but Rudy was at the point in his life where his mother could no longer discipline him.