Personal Narrative: My First Day In Canada

When I was a kid, a girl lived next door to me. She was beautiful, graceful, and overall a kind person. Her name was Riley. I remember the times where I hung out with her. She was a cool girl who didn’t mind a boy hanging around with her. We often spent our time swinging on a rope in the park and playing tag. In time, I felt… attached to her. I wanted to tell her this. However, something happened.

In my early tween years, I had won a National Canada Day Poster Challenge set by the Government of Canada to show what Canada means to me. I spent hours after school on trying to make this poster represent my identity, my history, and how I see the future of Canada. My little heart exploded when my art teacher broke the news, and I remember sitting on a stool in front of the poster smiling giddily as my father talked to the Minister of Canadian Heritage about what would come next. I visited the nation's capitol for the first time with my family the coming summer, and the experience was unforgettable. We toured the Parliament, the Peace Tower, and we saw my poster hanging in the Children's Museum of Ottawa on that trip. It was the first time

I was not born here in Canada, I'm originally from Haiti. I came to Canada when I was young and I only spoke French and Haitian Creole. In the beginning it was really hard adjusting to the new culture, life, school, making new friends, etc. it was like my world just turned upside down and I had to start all over again. Although Canada is a bilingual country where I was living, which is Windsor Ontario the majority of the people spoke English, most of the schools and government facility were also English places. I used to be really shy and quiet because I was afraid to be judged for not pronouncing or not understand what the words mean that is why when I went to school or any place that required me to speak English I just stayed quietly in a corner.

Although I am Canadian and still carry Canadian traits, adopting new traits from being in a different environment has helped me grow and become a better individual. Someone who doesn't move will forever lack certain traits because you are not exposed to different environments. Being from a different country, I have different thoughts on an American than Americans, but after being in America my perspective has altered. Being able to adapt to situations and environments, just as the frontiers had, has lead me to take more pride in my individual self. Going trough life significant life experiences has made me appreciate values of Americans like freedom and justice. The western mythology has helped shape this nation and is responsible for many

It was a polluted, blazing hot morning and I felt like I had just been working out for the whole night. As I got ready to go to school, putting on my pollution mask, and taking my bike out, I was concerned not about the teachers and getting lost, but about fitting in. This wasn’t perfect Canada anymore, this was chaos filled, contaminated, messed up China! Everyone was so different from the people in Canada, they spoke quite rudely, they wore shaggy cloth, and their shelter was very traditional compared to the ‘modern style houses’ in Canada. You could say that my school was a giant playground with a playground mansion and an additional indoor playground. As I entered the humid environment of the Mansion, strange figures zoomed around

My ancestors first came to Canada around 1845-1852. The names of the first people in my family to come to canada was Robert Young and Anna Young. They came to Canada from Ireland.

My mom Andrea Svank moved from Hungary to Canada in 1998. My mom was born July 19th, 1970 she was born in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. She got the idea to move to Canada because her husband Joszef Svank (my dad) went to Canada to visit his aunt and uncle for 8 months before they met. When they met he always talked about how nice Canada is and that one day when there married he wants to move to Canada.

I came to Concordia due to its quiet, laid back nature campus. The $15,000 a year for being Lutheran and it being only an hour and a half away from my home doesn’t hurt either. My hometown happens to be on the Island, it’s called Massapequa. That is where I live with my parents and three sisters, two of which are my triplets, something not many people know. As for my major I plan on majoring in middle education, grades 7-9. This is something I had considered before but, I settled on this after the school offered extra scholarships if I went on this path, and it was also something that felt right for me. I am a part of the Men’s Glee Club as well as gospel knights, this alludes to my obvious love for music. Currently I want to pass all my first

It’s been almost five years since my family has moved to Canada, and I have never felt left out before. I never thought I ever would, but ever since I started attending school in Canada I had the fear that no one would like me.

My parents weren’t the first people in their family to move to Canada. Two of my dad’s brothers had lived in Canada for ten years prior to when we moved. Due to the downfall of Iran’s economy and constant war threats towards the country, my parents decided after they had me that in order to build a better life for not only me but also themselves, that the best choice was to move to another country. They’ve always dreamt of moving to Canada, so when they got the news that they were granted their VISA, they were overjoyed and eager to start a new life. They said that when the date got closer they began to have second thoughts. Imagine living somewhere for your whole life, your childhood, your teenage years and your adulthood, then having to leave

I remember when I first moved to America. I remember how scared I was to move to a whole new country and didn’t know a soul within 400 miles of me. Everything was brand new and I was basically a newborn child in this world at the age of 4. I remember how we met, we bonded over the sport of soccer. I remember how we became the best of friends, and how we would carpool to Pre-K together. Then, she had a game for her church. I remember it was freezing because it was early January. She scored a goal right before half time, and then was taken off for the rest of the game. I remember seeing her panting on the bench, then I saw her lie down the bench. I figured she was tired, but then I saw her convulsing on the bench. I didn’t even realize what

When my family and I moved from Canada to United States 6 years ago, it was very hard for me and I had to meet and make a new group of friends. I was born in Canada, and I lived in Ottawa all my life until my family and relocated to Atlanta in 2011. At the time of the move, I was eleven years old and I had just finished Grade 5. I remember when my mom told me that we were moving to Atlanta, Georgia I didn’t know where that city was because I only knew the cities in Canada and not in Georgia. I was very sad and excited to move to a new city. I knew I would lose my friends in Canada but I also knew I would get to meet and make some new ones when I get to Atlanta.

As I walked to the parking lot where my mom had arrived to pick me up from school, my sister ran out of the car, ran towards me and yelled excitedly, “We’re going to Canada!” Having grown up in Kuwait for my whole life of 15 years, I could hardly believe my sister’s words. Going to Canada! I had only been out of the country twice, each time just to vacation and visit family in the Philippines where both my parents are from. I had always imagined what life would be like outside of Kuwait, and now it was finally going to be real. My 15-year old self was devastated - We were leaving the only home I had known for 15 years. It did not take long for my sisters’ excitement to die when we realized that we would be leaving our friends and everything we’ve ever known and not returning for a long time. Life in Kuwait for 15 years was comfortable and we were more than financially stable. Moving to Canada without a job offer in place meant that we would have to start from the beginning all over again. Goodbyes were hard but my parents encouraged us to see the joys of moving to a place where we could start over and become accepted citizens of a country. Arriving in Canada, I experienced the biggest culture shock of my life. Vancouver, BC was cold, wet, and loud. I had thought adjusting would be relatively easy; I spoke English with a slight accent but I was very shy that it confused some of the other kids to think I couldn’t speak English. I did not understand the culture, which took a

I am wanted by the Chinese Police because I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I learned Falun Gong while I was studying in Canada. In the summer of 2013, while visiting home in China, I taught my grandmother to practice Falun Gong to cure her illness. However, after my activities were discovered by the Chinese authorities, I returned to Canada quickly. But, my grandmother was arrested, interrogated and mistreated multiple times by the Chinese police, which she couldn't withstand. And under great pressure and repeated mistreatment, she died in August 2014

Before I come to Canada I lived in Turkey for full five years. I had some good, but mostly bad memories of life in Turkey. The people who live in Turkey can sometimes be so mean and raciest. Once I was at the park with my friend Sara who was a quiet and a calm girl that was from my country. Sara was a friend who I would call my sister. I was on a swing with Sara that a Turkish girl wanted to use. She looked around seven years old and had dark hair and I was nine years old at that time. It wasn’t too long before I saw an angry woman walking toward me; I got scared and told Sara " I wonder why she is so angry." The first word that came out of that angry woman's mouth was " All of you come from other countries and use the swings that our children are supposed to use." I got really upset, I felt a sword just went through my heart. I wanted to tell her that for us to live in her country we pay her government monthly. But, I didn’t say anything and ran to my mom immediately. I went to my mom and started talking like a radio that wouldn’t stop. My mom shook her head and told me "It's okay." And offered me a ice