I am Canadian, but I wasn’t always. I don’t remember much about coming to Canada. But I do remember the day we took our oaths and became citizens. I was 10 years old by then. On a winter’s day in March with the harshest, most biting wind I have ever experienced, we headed to city hall. We stood in front of the judge and it was half way through the oath before I looked over at my brother and realized I was supposed to be saying it too. They let me be a citizen anyway. I remember posing for a photo with a Mountie. I am proudly Canadian now.
Belonging
There are brief moments now when I almost forget that I’m not from here. My story starts in England and takes a trip through Africa before arriving in North America – my third continent so far. I’ve lived on the west coast long enough now that I identify as being “from BC” rather than “from Ontario” where I did most of my growing-up. It is an amazing feeling, belonging here.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger was once asked about being an immigrant and in his response he said, “I have been received.” That’s such a perfect statement of what it means to become a citizen by means other than birth. I have been received too. When we arrived in Canada my Mom was heavily pregnant with my younger brother and I remember the neighbors quickly rallying around her, helping her find an OB and bringing food to the house.
Inviting others
I know that not every immigrant family is received as mine was. I think it’s hard for people who have always been in familiar surroundings to realize just how lonely it is to go somewhere where everything is different and where no one, not one single person, knows you. If there are immigrant families in your neighborhood, why not inviting them into your weekend plans? What better way to celebrate independence and everything that is great about your country and mine than by receiving the people who have sacrificed a lot to choose to be here?
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Tags: citizen, citizenship, immigrant, immigration, indepedence day, World
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