Ten years ago, when I was seven, my family decided to start a fresh new life, and what better place is there than Canada. When we first ventured here it was actually an RV road trip, I can tell you Canada was a hook. After having a small taste of what life would be like here, we wanted more, so no better rational idea than to pack our bags and actually move here. After Ten amazing years have flown by I started to realize that Canada is much more than just the beautiful landscape and the awesome healthcare. It’s the warm welcoming you feel when walking down the street and a complete stranger says hello, and yet you don’t feel like strangers anymore. The time when you accidentally bump into someone and they say sorry instead of you, like it’s their fault you walked into them. When you’re outside, you can join in on any game without even having to ask, you are just invited. When you have one of those sad days that can’t be cured, but somehow someone even by doing the simplest deed picks your mood up. That’s where the question comes in “what does Canada mean to you?”. A question so simple but yet so complicated, when being asked, indescribable emotions boil up, I had to search my limited vocabulary to find the perfect match of what Canada is to me and that word is, fantabulous. I’m only joking, no word can describe what Canada means to me, so that’s why I made a video.

The whole reason this post is being published is for a competition. The purpose of this competition is to submit a thirty second video on the question “what does Canada mean to me?“. Now this is no small competition, all of Canada is competing for the grand prize of 5000$ (that’s a lot of iPads). So my best chance of winning the prize is to join up with my partner in crime, Cashel, between our two brilliant minds we have a good chance of going 50/50 on the prize. A first glance of our movie it may seem like every other entry, but ours requires deep thoughts and attention to detail. The first clip in the video is the classic Canadian flag flapping oh so elegantly in the wind, because what other than the Canadian flag symbolizes Canada better. The next picture is of Cashel and his dad surfing, why we added this is because every year Cashel and his Dad travel out to Tofino to surf. He said when he thinks of what Canada means to him, memories like that come to mind of his family time, spending it out in the beautiful country we luckily have. Cashel playing basketball is after, as that is his favourite sport to play, not only because he enjoys the physicality of it, he also enjoys the people and audience that come with the sport. Every time he steps on that court he feels at home. Followed is my favourite sport, ski racing. Ski racing was the first sport I did when moving to Canada, and because of that sport I have met so many amazing people that are still in my life right now and will never be forgotten. Up next is one of my earliest memories of coming to Canada, going out to English bay and skim boarding with my family. This is one of my most important memories as it reminds me that Canada is such a diverse country. I could be skim boarding one day in the lovely sunshine and be carving up the slopes the next. Finally the last and most important clip, the one I remember vividly, my school performance. Our performance theme was about friendship and that’s what I truly think symbolizes Canada the most, how easy it is to make new friends that last for a lifetime.
Why Cashel and I thought this was a good idea to make this video is because we jam packed it with all of our fondest memories of our childhood that could not have been possible if it was not for Canada. Without Canada, my favourite childhood memories would be no more and that is what I treasure most. So all I can say is that I am proud and most thankful to be a part of the Canadian society and culture and would not know what I would do without it.