The old adage “time flies when you’re having fun” has recently invaded my thoughts.
The end of this month will mark eight years of leaving my home town, filling me with nostalgia and reflection. During this time, I’ve lived with family, on my own, with roommates and back on my own again; I’ve met so many people through work, through travel and through everyday life; I’ve changed jobs several times (although with the same company) and tried many new things in life. I feel so fortunate to be where I stand today.
I’ve always looked at growing up in a small city as being a part of who I am. In saying that, I always knew that I was bound for a bigger life than the constraints of a small city. The hustle and bustle of everyone on the streets of Toronto can be somewhat overwhelming (just ask my mother) but it’s in this same environment where each individual is unique, eclectic and wonderful in his or her own right. Nothing, in my mind, beats walking Queen Street West on a hot summer day and soaking in the individuality and spark of life that exudes every pore of that neighbourhood.
I was standing on a subway platform the other day when it dawned on me that I was about to board a train that travels underground carrying thousands of people every day from one point to the next. Feat of engineering? Most people don’t think it so, but then again, when you’re from a small city with a limited public transit system, it’s quite amazing. I still marvel at the size of this great city and the vastness of its opportunities
So yes, over the past eight years I may have changed, even grown and I may be that person who has absolutely no problem sitting in Starbucks reading a book and sipping tea, but I’m also that person who once came from a small city, not knowing what to do but willing to trying something new.
Life is all around you, give it a try!
