My 'Heart', My Home
Guestbook/
TabindaAhmad/
Jan 7, 2015
It's in my heart, quite literally. I grew up here. This is home, and this is what I hold dear in my heart. Heart Lake. It's these two words that have created my Canadian identity. It brings serenity and calmness. I can't explain it. I'm proud of it, though many would say it's local, and quite boring, it has an place, in the heart of the city, and in the heart of its citizens'. It's the name of my school, Heart lake Secondary School. My identity as student comes from Heart Lake, its my sense of belonging, to a community, and to my school. The shape of the heart, symbolizes so many things, and one being is the love for my city, Brampton.
Although my favorite local place is Heart Lake, I have visited many other places outside of the city, I've been to various conservation areas in Caledon, Toronto ect. The places I've been to Canada, are places that are more local, in essence these places I think have been over looked, places where no one admires as much. I think that many conservation areas showcase the environment. I was a student volunteer at TRCA (Toronto Region Conservation Authority), the entire week was spent learning about the environment, types of plants and shrubs, how to sustain our water, environment ect. I got the opportunity to be at a farm, and see what it is like to grow tomatoes. I was able to canoe and kayak, at Heart Lake, which was fun, other than the fact that I didn't know that the paddle was upwards splashing on to my partner sitting behind me, for future reference, no one should ride in a kayak with me.
Many places outside of Heart lake have inspired me, and has shaped my identity, and that is in the city of opportunity, Toronto. I have visited the Air Canada Centre last year, for We Day, learning about what I can do in my community, and the ability of words, helping to change the world. I was able to take my ability of writing, and create an article of the event in hopes to raise awareness of this amazing non-profit organization. I sent the article to 10-20 publishers, in hopes it would land somewhere. It happened, my hard work paid off. I was able to have my article published in HEY Youth Magazine, I was surprised how social empowerment could actually work, if you try. One place in Canada that stands out in my mind; that has made me proud Canadian, is the Art Gallery of Ontario. Every time I get a chance to go to the Gallery, I am able to see the works of Canadian artists and be proud of their astonishing works. I have also visited the Hockey Hall of Fame, and speaking on behalf of most Canadians, I can say that it has been apart of my identity. Growing up in a family, watching hockey and watching my brother play hockey, make me proud of Canada as a nation. A nation that displays its achievements, and has been a nation of opportunity.
My hope in the future is to build my Canadian identity, it has been a dream of mine to go to Ottawa, see the parliament buildings. Hopefully, there is a chance of me being there, attending Carleton University. I couldn't be more excited to see what Ottawa has in store. My identity is growing, my identity is yet to be discovered, but most importantly, my identity is following my heart. If I lose my way or get lost in the mix of it all, while finding that identity, I know where to go, where I've always gone, my home, Heart Lake.
