What does Canada mean to me? We were given an opportunity to win some great prizes, just by making a video that answers this question. The video had to be 30 seconds long, and tell a story about what Canada means to you. I’m not going to lie, when this question was asked, this was the first thing that came to mind:
Warning: Slightly offensive content
Other than that, the first thing that comes to mind when I think about Canada is the usual stereotypes. Really polite people who watch hockey, are lumberjacks, and have pet moose. But beyond the stereotypes there’s a lot of great things about Canada. First off, it truly is a land of opportunities. No matter how old you are, Canada is filled with great sports teams, occupations, clubs, and places to learn. People are supportive and will help you achieve whatever you desire.
After thinking about this, I started to realize how lucky we are to live in Canada. Every day we hear about brutal things going on in other parts of the world, so I really cherish the fact that Canada is a safe country. We are lucky to have a democracy so that our voices are heard. Also Canada isn’t just a safe place for Canadians, we are ranked 15th in the world in refugee population.
A stereotype of Canadians is that we are very polite and kind. And while some people might dismiss this as just a stereotype, it is based on a large truth. I remember being surprised the first time I was in a country other than Canada, because every person I passed didn’t ask me how I was doing. I think that it’s things like this that we take for granted, things that we don’t notice until we are not in Canada.
If you’re still not ready to pack your bags and move to Canada, here is a list of what makes it such a great country (from a statistical point of view):
– On average, Canadians live longer than Americans
– We have the 3rd highest quality of life IN THE WORLD
– Canadian students rank in the top 10% in the world in math and science
– We have a low suicide rate
– Almost 50% of Canadians have a post secondary degree (which is a huge number)
– On average, a very high percentage of our citizens are fit
The list goes on and on but those are just some of the highlights.
So, back to the project. I teamed up with Tom for this project and we both had some good ideas. At first, we thought about doing a lot of clips of Canada’s wilderness (which is one of the things that makes Canada so great). But after watching some of the other submissions, we realized that almost everyone else had done something like that, so we wanted to do something different. Since we both reflected on how much we enjoyed growing up in Canada, we wanted to put in some footage of us doing our favourite childhood activities.
Our movie starts with a Canadian flag waving which sets the tone.
After that, there is some vides of Tom and I doing our favourite activities, for me surfing and playing basketball. These were activities that I was lucky enough to be able to participate in as I grew up, and activities that I still enjoy to this day. These are things that I might not be able to do if I didn’t live in Canada (especially surfing in Tofino, which I consider one of the hidden gems of Canada).
Throughout our movie, there is a song being sung by Tom and his classmates from elementary school. This song emphasizes the great communities that can be found throughout Canada.
Well that’s a lot of talking for a 30 second video, so here it is:
In reflection, I guess this project just reminded me how lucky I am to live in Canada and have all the opportunities that I do. I think that sometimes we take it for granted how lucky we are, so it is important to reflect on what a great county we live in.