On October 2nd, early morning, a flight from JFK International Airport landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was one of the passengers. At the altitude of 25000 feet, the view I saw was indescribable. I never saw anything like it before. The lights brightly shining upward from the ground, small green trees and the lengthy curved dark roads. It was a dark calm moonless evening. I didn’t expect the scenery to be this spectacular. I was speechless for a moment.
As the plane slowly descended to a lower altitude, I took off my seatbelt quickly, eager to see the extent of the view. I stood up excitedly to see the whole scenery. When it landed, I eagerly grabbed the items and went out of the plane. The smell of air was different here. It was cold mountain fresh air. Before all I’m familiar with is air pollution. That day, I knew it was a lot different here.
I went to the airport; it was clean, quiet and empty. This was nothing of what I expected. It is the total opposite of where I grew up. Yet, I felt as if nothing mattered, all I know is that I am keen to see the spectacular scenery I recently saw. I was too exited that it didn't took us long to take the baggage. Then we went to the custom checks. It took two agonizing hours. Yet, it didn’t bother me. I was picturing how life in Canada will be different and how I could have a clean new beginning. I felt like I was lucky to have a second opportunity to have a different life.
By 2:00AM we finished everything and were waiting for a friend in the lobby, who was already waiting. I know, I haven’t slept for hours, but I believe this is worthwhile. I didn’t get to sleep the whole ride to their house. I spent all of my time looking out the window. I could barely see a thing. I...
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...nk, everything is normal. I felt isolated. I will always remember during recess period, I can see everybody else having fun except for one person, who was doing her homework and asking questions to the teacher. The person was me.
As time pass by, my temporary solution of making myself thing everything is normal became permanent. Now, I am adjusted to life in Halifax, Nova Scotia. But I will never forget the memories I left during my first days of school. It had been a great ride. Today, I am the person who spends most of the time doing school work, research and other activities containing educational purposes. For others, it isn’t normal for a child or teen to be like it. In my opinion, this is how I have fun. Today, I still feel the same way sometime. But I know what happened in my past starting my first day of school at Park West had shaped who I am today.
Every cold Alberta winter, or dry summer, makes me long for the East Coast. When I grow tired of the brown dirty hills of Alberta, I can close my eyes and picture being back in New Brunswick, bright green meadows and clear rivers. I miss how the fog creeps into your yard in the early mornings, the bittersweet smell of the sea that never could be washed out, I miss the feeling of home. As a child, my family and I would road trip, traveling East to the sea. I remember how the vastness of Alberta would change into the golden prairies of Saskatchewan, then shift into the forested hills of Ontario, and finally the calm rocky shores of New Brunswick. I remember the house we lived in, white paint peeling off the sides of the house, a Canadian and Arcadian flag flying on the porch (put there by my historian of a cousin), floral green wallpaper clashing with antique, mismatched furniture. That house has been in my family for generations, each of our stories have been told, beautiful new memories have been made there. I miss it so much. I miss the beach side bonfires, sparks drifting so far away they became stars, the rainy marketplace days, coming home and smelling like fish. The Alberta cold makes my heartache, I want to go home. My home is a comfortable old cabin, where I grew to not be scared of a
I was smiling and laughing while many on the plane were vomiting. This was the most fun I’d had on a flight, but not everyone seemed to share my excitement. They had good reason for anxiety; we had endured a turbulent, and were now circling Columbus unable to land. This started my experience at Winter Guard International World Championships in my junior year.
When I stepped out of the hot, airless plane into the bright, dazzling sunlight beaming down across the burning concreate, I felt excited and nervous. Holding my beach bag in my hand and slipping my Ray Ban sunglasses on with my other, I flip-flopped down the airspace. Overhead I heard the screams of gulls and the chatter of the small fluffy birds. I suddenly realized I had arrived to Hawaii. This trip was such an unforgettable vacation for me because I got to witness the beauty of nature that Hawaii has to offer.
“Difficult roads often lead to the beautiful destination”. 28 July 2017, I came here in Canada from India. In India for me was coming to Canada exciting with many dreams in my eyes. Before coming here in Canada I thought that everyone living here has a voice and freedom to speak. Also, girls are treated equally to boys without any discrimination. Girls have equal rights and opportunities as men, but the English were a big problem. I never had to speak in English in India there was no language barrier in India. I realized in India I can express my feeling without thinking that it will be embarrassing if I will talk with others. All of the above, I had to make new friends all over again. After starting my school in Canada, my excitement was all
On the winding, mountainous seven-mile drive, my ears crackled and popped as we ascended through the mountains. Suddenly, a mother black bear emerged alongside the road with her three little cubs wandering closing behind her, so I quickly grabbed my camera to capture the image of these striking animals. Approaching Clingmans Dome, I observed numerous dying trees and areas of bareness towering the Spruce-fir forest. Finally, I arrived at the Forney Ridge Parking Area below the summit and began the short, steep one-half mile hike on the paved spiral concrete ramp leading to the observation tower. The sun filtered through the misty-fog as I climbed higher, the mountain air had a fresh scent, and the breeze was slightly chilly. As I reached the top of the observation tower, I experienced some shortness of breath from the 6,643 feet of high elevation, so I took a moment to rest before enjoying the view. The concrete circular platform surrounding the tower provided an awe- inspiring panoramic view of the scenery for miles. The incredible scenery looked like an artist’s palette with vivid hues of green, shades of brown, and touches of yellow speckled throughout the landscape. The natural wonders in sight were breathtaking, just inspirational beauty. As I peered upward, I felt a sense of floating in a sea of clouds as they rolled in and out
To begin with, my life five years ago was very swell. I was fourteen years old and in the eighth grade. I hadn’t got a job yet, I didn’t have very many friends, I was very shy and antisocial and was always on the computer. I was getting excited about my Washington D.C. trip with my school but I was also very nervous about having to share a room and a bed. I was even more nervous because I knew what shorty was going to follow; which was me going over to the high school to become a freshman. I was only so nervous because it was going to be a new place, a new school and a bunch of new faces around me. Then again I was very happy in life because I had set goals but I am also very happy in life now.
Earlier this summer, my Mom decided it would be a fun idea to hike the Grand Canyon. After four hours of sitting in a plane and another four hours sitting in a car, we finally passed the “Grand Canyon National Park” sign. It was verging on dark, and the sun peeked just over the flat, desert horizon, slowly disappearing past the endless line in the sky. We quickly checked into our room in the hotel, unpacked our overstuffed suitcases, and zipped on outside to get a good view of the famous gash in the earth’s surface. As I went outside, I could feel the coolness of the air on my skin, the fresh smell of desert nature coursing through my nostrils. The wind had picked up, and was now whistling through what little trees there were, covering the chirping chorus of crickets and other insects hiding for the night. Suddenly, my hat blew off my head, and I hastily sprinted to recover it.
When I finally placed my car into park, I thought I heard a long sigh from its engine, which was exhausted from the lengthy trip beginning in Boston, traveling North on 95 to the tip of Maine, then South again, finding the way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the most redundant route possible. I stepped out of my vehicle and inhaled, tasting the water that I heard, milliseconds later, pounding against the assortment of wooden docks that I had spotted from the highway. Seeing these docks from the steel bridge that peered over the city's boundary had caused me to take the next immediate exit, which, in turn, led me to where I was standing. "It's a windy one today," a passing local said to me, regarding the weather, with a charm I hadn't encountered since leaving the Midwest. I nodded, though maybe more out of approval than agreement, because who was I to know what was and wasn't normal in this foreign city?
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
We visited tourist attractions, shopped with my family around, and ate at random restaurants. For some reason, I never had the courage to tell my parents about the night and I agreed with my cousin to not speak about this. When we said our goodbyes and got on the airplane, I took one last look at the skyline at night. It was a stunning scene. My parents didn’t just make a decision to come to Toronto; they made the best decision for my future. As the airplane moves farther away from the skyline, I could imagine returning to the safe and diverse community I am accustomed
The heart begins racing the moment the car pulls into the airport parking lot. The smell of jet fuel, automobile exhaust, and hot tarmac combine to assault the senses with images of exotic escapes and the kind of freedom that can only come from airports. I feel the thrum of the engines at takeoff and the vibration of the plane during the flight in my skin. I see people listening to MP3s and playing video games. I hear the couple behind me chatting about the weather in Florida and the possibility of rain. I recognize the smell of fading perfume that women are wearing. Chanel, Windsong and White Diamonds clash with the smell of popcorn and Quizno sandwiches.
Summer break was over, and it was the time to go back to school to my eleventh grade. School for me wasn’t that different as my summer break. I never felt like not going to school after a long summer break because I used to have a lot of fun in school. School for me was a place where you would socialize, gossip, brag, drive attention, miss conduct, daydream, text students, sing, ask silly questions and flirt with girls. I think now you know how my days at school used to be. However, a day has come that I would not expect it to come at all. I suddenly became a much disciplined student that I would not do anything out of the way. It all happened when I meet my new physics professor Jamal Betar who has wonderful qualities that amaze him from other teachers, and he also gave me the true meaning of education that I have never thought of before in my life.
This area of the world is so foreign to my Oklahoma life; it infuses me with awe, and with an eerie feeling of being strongly enclosed by huge mountains, and the mass of tall trees. However, when my foot first steps onto the dusty trail it feels crazily magical. The clean, crisp air, the new smell of evergreen trees and freshly fallen rain is mixed with fragrances I can only guess at. It is like the world has just taken a steroid of enchantment! I take it all in, and embrace this new place before it leaves like a dream and reality robs the moment. As I turn and look at my family, I was caught by my reflection in their impressions. The hair raising mischief in the car was forgotten and now it was time to be caught up in this newness of life. It was as if the whole world around us had changed and everyone was ready to engulf themselves in it. The trickling of water somewhere in the distance and the faint noise of animals all brought the mountains to
I had never cried or not wanted to go to school. In the beginning, I was very shy and used to whisper everything in the teacher’s (Rosa) ears. I was very particular about keeping my footwear clean, while polishing shoes, I polished underneath too. My friends were artistic and were interested in art and music. In middle school, I had an amazing teacher. She was very friendly and helpful to all of us. My friends were really fun to hang out with and we clicked since the beginning. They shared the same interests with me like reading books, dancing, writing, etc. We used to bunk our art classes and play games in the class. I still talk to most of them, thanks to technology. The school once took us on a 5-day camping trip nearby and it was the best part of middle school. I loved the time spent with my friends, we shared so many secrets with each other. My favorite memory is when they took us to a beach. None of us had beach clothes so we all went into the water in our school uniforms. It was an amazing
My education began in fifth grade, my parents moved from one location to another. It wasn’t easy for me, because school was the first place I ever got to interact with other kids. Before school started, I was pretty much kept indoors and not allowed to have contact with other people, except for my family members.