From “One Day…” to “One Year Already!!!”

Hello, Namaste, AssalamWalekum, Sasriakal, Kem Cho, Bonjour, Ciao & a very warm welcome to the beautiful souls reading this.

I hope this article finds you in a cheery mood. Same as the mood I’m writing it in. Sipping on some cold Chamomile Iced tea, at the harbourfront, with calming waves lashing onto the shore, music all around, vibrant faces and colours everywhere on a nice sunny day in Toronto.

I can’t believe it’s been a year already. And what a year it has been!

I’ve grown in ways I cannot explain, missed things I had no idea that I’d miss, and let go of things that I thought I’d never do.

I wrote an article last year (here) where I mentioned how I always prayed on every birthday and Eid to have the next one in Canada & it finally came through. Not only that, my first Eid & birthday in Canada was on the same day. The chance of that happening is truly phenomenal…!!

I checked the calendar and it seems these dates won’t even be anywhere near each other for the next 33 years & even then it would be close but not on the same day. This itself is a miracle & makes me believe in DESTINY.

Anyway (enough with the nerd stuff), in the same article I also mentioned that I’ll write a follow-up article (hopefully from Canada) which I never did. That’s because I did not know what to write about since there are so many things that a single article just won’t do justice!

So, in this one, we’ll talk about one of the questions that I’ve been asked many times as an immigrant over here — “Why Canada!!??”

Sometimes when I don’t know the person enough or when I don’t have enough time, I just answer it by saying — “Why not Canada? It’s beautiful, people are nice and kind. Amazing overall.”

Other times, I give them the practical reason which is — “I was living in India & wanted to move to a different country with a better standard of living. I would have been happy with Europe, Australia, New Zealand, US, UK or Canada. But Canada was the only country I could immigrate to without a job offer & without investing a lot of money to study as an international student. Hence Canada!!!”

Now while both the statements are completely true, that’s certainly not the whole story…

The dream actually started 20 years ago, when my father decided to migrate to Canada permanently. It started with a dream of his and he put in the actual work then to complete the process. We were on our last leg of the race. I remember our parents talking to us (me and my sister) about gearing up to study in the schools of Canada, how studying there will be very different, and how our lives are going to change for the better. We almost sold our house back then and were ready to move to Canada and change our lives forever.

This was back in the early 2000s when the process was quite different. My father ultimately got acceptance to come to Canada pending a medical examination. And that’s when lightning struck! Unfortunately, during the process, we found out that his Kidneys were 80% dysfunctional at that point because of diabetes and since the medical examination was important as Canada didn’t want people to come here and take benefit of their free healthcare and be a burden on the government (which is quite understandable), our dreams went on a long pause.

So, while the practical reason for being in Canada because it is the only country where I could apply without studying or having a job offer is true, but of all the other countries I mentioned earlier, Canada has always been a priority.

One of my closest friends still tells me that the first thing she learnt about me, even before she knew my name, is that I wanted to be in Canada. This is all the way back in 2015 when we first met and I’m glad and grateful that she’s here as she has been, for a year, a part of my support system, celebrating with me my most special memory of completing one year in Canada. Soon, we will be celebrating her one year as well! :)

To end this article, I’m just gonna wish luck to everyone who is pursuing their dreams and tell them to never give up because –

…and hope that I have my Mom and Sister here when I’m celebrating my second-year anniversary in Canada at the top of CN Tower.

Dua me Yaad rakhna!!!
(Remember me in your prayers)