edcrwrd

[edcrwrd]

27 years ago, my parents bought their forever home in Vancouver, British Columbia. 22 years ago, I was born, and my parents brought me home for the very first time. Like any other baby boy, I loved to be pampered and I loved the attention that my parents gave me on a daily basis. I immediately grew comfortable shrouded with the love and care of both my parents and I quickly developed a connection and sense of security with my new home. Fast forward a couple of years, it is now the year 2000 and I was walking around the house with the minimal balance that any toddler would possess at my current age. Though it was clear that I was quite the adventurer; I also had an artistic side as well. On my first birthday, my grandparents thought that it would be a good idea to get me crayons as a gift. Although it was probably hard to tell through my babbling and broken English, I’m sure that I was thinking to myself, “the world is my canvas”.  I took it upon myself to draw on just about everything in my path. Dogs, cats, giraffes, and just about every animal that I have ever seen on Dora the Explorer coated the corner of my bedroom wall. When my parents finally caught on to what I was doing and saw my wonderful masterpiece on my wall, they thought that it would be a good idea to leave it uncleaned. They thought that one day, when I’m all grown up, I will look back at it and be reminded of one of the first chapters of my life in our home. 2 years later, I am finally starting pre-school. Like many kids starting school, I was extremely shy and timid. I just wanted every day at school to pass so that I could go home and play with my toys alongside my parents. It was clear that our house was the only place where I could feel safe and protected from all the strangers that I’m faced with daily at school. Towards the end of pre-school, I did make one good friend, however. His name was Alvin. After the school year ended, we had many play dates at my house for the entirety of July and August of 2003. When he came over for the first time, I showed him my crayon collection and the spot on my wall with my drawn-on animals. He then proceeds to add onto my masterpiece. He writes, “Alvin wuz hir” (Alvin was here). I let out a loud laugh and our Summer took off from there. That entire summer was full of beach days with both our families, days at the water park, and days at home playing our favourite board games. Everything was going smoothly until September came around. Alvin told me that he was moving to Maple Ridge and going to kindergarten somewhere there. I knew immediately that I wasn’t going to be seeing my dear friend anymore. I said to him my final farewell and started kindergarten at my new school a week later. This marks the beginning of elementary school and the end of the first chapter of my life.

[edcrwrd]

The year is now 2011 — elementary school was a blur, and I am going to be starting high school in a month. I was quite lazy for the entirety of elementary school, so my parents gave me the idea to join the grade 8 football team — so I signed up. Football practices started at the beginning of August to prepare the new players for the upcoming football season which begins in September. I quickly became friends with my teammates and sports quickly became a part of my identity. During our first football practice, the coach noticed the speed on my feet — I was probably among the fastest 8th graders he had ever seen. He then suggested I join the track and field team as well. Football and track ultimately became a big part of my life. Fast forward two years, I am constantly training for my two sports as well as studying hard outside of practice. Like many 10th graders, I am just beginning to think about my future beyond high school. I didn’t know whether I was going to have a future in sports so I studied constantly so that I would be able to fall back on my mental prowess in case physically, I wasn’t fit enough to play sports at a higher level. This led to me being constantly overworked and exhausted. I grew to cherish my home because it was the only place where I was able to relax and unwind. This allowed me to take to heart the common phrase, “home sweet home” — because home was indeed, very sweet. Every day when I got home from school and practice, I would go straight to bed and take a nap. My home was a place that I could confidently call a place of rest and relaxation — because when I’m not at home, I’m usually giving it my all at practice or in class. When I think about how my free time was spent at home, I would picture vividly the endless nights that I would have with my friends playing video games online or just talking on Skype. When I wasn’t online with my friends, I was usually napping or doing homework. I was usually embarrassed to have my friends over because I don’t want my parents to bother us and cramping our style when we’re partaking in various activities. I always thought that my parents were pretty strict, but I suppose that it’s because they wanted the best for me. Two years later, I am starting my senior year of high school. After years of thinking, I have decided that I’m going to leave sports behind after I graduate high school. I have decided to pursue a degree and hopefully get a well-paying job in the future. This led to endless nights at home — studying and doing university applications. The number of times where I would just lie in bed and be overwhelmed with reality was countless. Fast forwarding several months to the end of the school year and my time at high school, I am proud to call myself a high school graduate who is going to be going to university to pursue a degree next year. This marks the end of a chapter in my life and the beginning of my slow transition to the real world which starts in university.

[edcrwrd]

The past 4 years have been among the hardest years of my life. Strong dedication to my studies, caused me to lose touch with many friends from high school. I found myself to be alone during the most stressful times during my time in university. I chose to study mathematics and statistics and in each of my classes, I had 1 or 2 friends — but like many friends made in university, they come and go. Towards the end of the 2020 session at my university, disaster struck — COVID-19 had been declared a pandemic. Shortly after, the entire province was put on lockdown to prevent further spreading of the virus. I found myself in an endless loop of sleeping, eating, and showering. During the 22 years that I have lived in this house, I don’t think that I have ever been so bored. Being struck with boredom, I decided to head into the online world to see who I can reach out to for company. After a lifetime of mindless scrolling and meaningless chats with people online, I was taken by surprise by this young woman named Tania. She had the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. Hypnotized by her smile, I took it upon myself to compliment her smile and say a little hello. From there, our conversations took off. We texted for a couple weeks then advanced to video calling and then it quickly got to a point where we really wanted to meet each other. Since we were both living with our parents in the middle of a lock down, we decided to sneak out to see each other. We decided to go on a walk at a park to get to know each other. After our first date, it was clear that we had a connection — I was falling in love! I thought that the pandemic would bring boredom and unforeseen adversity, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I found the woman that I could potentially build a future with. Fast forwarding a year, the pandemic finally passes, and everyone is finally adjusting to life after COVID-19. I’m finishing up my final year in university and I couldn’t have done it without the love and support of my loving girlfriend, Tania. All those late nights studying in my room and working hard finally paid off! My parents, who supported me, and provided me with a roof over my head for my entire life are incredibly proud and are excited for what the next chapter of my life will present me with. The year following graduation was honestly all a blur to me. I’m now 24 and I just received my first job offer in my field — data analytics. I’m finally going to be able to move out and be able to live with the love of my life. Shortly after starting my new job, Tania and I decided to move out to a condo out in South Vancouver - Marine Drive Station to be exact. As I’m in my room, packing up all my belongings in preparation for my new life away from home, I picked up boxes and cleared up clutter in a corner of my room. To my surprise, I unveiled several faded drawings in crayon of dogs, cats, giraffes, and a few other residual pieces of wall art from my pre-school and kindergarten days. My mom walks in as I spot the drawings and she says to me, “You were quite the artist when you were a year old. You grew up before my very own eyes and I couldn’t be prouder.” I responded with a big hug holding back tears in my eyes. For as long as I could remember, I never took the time to appreciate the home I lived in and reflect on how much I’ve grown over the years. I was initially scared that I would never feel the level of comfort that I felt in my childhood home, but I realized that the only reason why I lived so comfortably in my home was because of the love and support of my parents. Now, I’m going to be lucky enough to live with Tania who can provide me with the same love and support. As I’m finally leaving my childhood home to begin a new life living together with Tania, I came to the realization that home is where the heart is. Now, begins the first day of the rest of my life — the next chapter with the love of my life.