My life before moving to Canada was different in many aspects.

When I was living in

Venezuela my life was totally different because I lived with my family, so I really did not
have to worry about many aspects of life such as paying the rent or buying food.
Moreover, my only responsibility was to study and to graduate from high school, and my
parents always took the hard decisions. It was a huge impact when I moved to Canada
because I was alone and I had to find a job to be productive and to help my parents with
the fees, so I had to learn how to be more independent.

In my first days in Canada I was afraid because it was a huge change in my life, and it was
the first time that I was going to live alone and far from my family. At the beginning I was
really scared because I was going to move to a country with a totally different culture, and
with another language. Because of my fear to be alone, my experience living in Canada at
first was not the best, as I really wanted to go back to my country, and many times I felt
the need to call my parents and tell them that I did not want to be in Canada anymore.
But, after a few months all went better. So, I started to be more comfortable with myself,
and to enjoy my classes because I did not get frustrated when I did not understand
something, and also I started to meet new people, and then make good friends. After all, I
can say that moving to Canada has been the best decision that I have taken because it
really taught me that life is not easy, and that I have to make a front to new challenges
because that is what life means.

After making a big decision such as moving abroad, I began to value little things more
from back home like spending time with my family, enjoying going out with my friends,
and valuing the love and help that my parents have always given me. Living alone in a
different country has also taught me how to be more independent, and how to deal with
common daily life problems by myself. In my personal experience living in Canada taught
me how valuable friends are; here I have made unbreakable bonds with friends from
around the world that have been with me since I came to Canada and have become my
second family. I believe that this experience has helped me to grow personally, to become
a better person, and to value even more my family and friends.