This morning I woke up and realized that today it’s been a year since I embarked on this Canadian adventure. A year ago I was leaving my family and my country to come and try to conquer the world on my own, after living the most difficult 2005 anyone can think about. A year ago I was excited and scared and I had no idea of what my life was going to become; I had no idea if I was going to make it. I arrived to a new city, where I knew almost nobody and where my only contact was an old friend I don’t stay in touch with these days.

The first two months were the hardest, I woke up every day feeling like packing my bags and going back to Colombia. Then I got in school, then I moved to an apartment with roomies, then I started making friends, then I started getting good grades, then I was done with school, then I got a fantastic summer job, then I started school again, then… then is now! I’m sitting at school working on a report with a friend. Next week I’ll be taking a vacation in the U.S. (can hardly wait!), then who knows… Life surprises us sometimes.

A year. And I’m still breathing, lonely but breathing. I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss my country. But somehow I’m sure this is the place where the rest of my life started and so far, it’s going great. If anything, the challenges I’ve been presented with lately, have only made me even stronger. Happy 1st anniversary to me!

I had a test today, didn’t do that well, expected. But I’ve been feeling tired, really tired lately, like I need a break (will get it next week in… errr… somewhere, yay!). I guess my friend Steph noticed that I wasn’t doing that well today when she ambushed me in front of my locker and told me we were going to have supper together and she wasn’t getting a “NO” for an answer. So we hit this absolutely cool place called “La Cuisine” and had the most delicious burger with fries anyone can think of… and the salad, oh the salad! We talked, we laughed, we confided. I have a new (kinda happy) situation in my life and she was being encouraging, it felt great!

Then we went for a long walk. The evening is kinda chilly, but nice enough. Feeling the wind on my face and having my friend to talk to, reminded me that no matter how hard things seem to get sometimes, there are always reasons to smile. And I do have reasons to smile… Big ones! My life is taking an unexpected turn now, one that I really didn’t see coming, and I see the sun shining again after the storm. I’m feel like waking up after some bizarre dream, and I’m glad to have Steph to share all this with. I’m lucky.