One Year Later...

Hi everyone,

It has been a year since I have moved to Canada. The goals that I have placed for myself have yet to happen. I unfortunately still work at the retail store but as a manager, and I have not been able to gain work experience in an architecture firm here. Also, I am still unable to take classes from MOSAIC as my long workday prevents me from being able to fully commit to classes. I tried it for a few weeks, but I found myself falling behind due to stressing about my finances. I feel that I have improved my English a little, as talking to people on a regular basis as made me more confident. However, I would like to have the chance to attend English classes in the near future. I feel that it is not too late to learn and I would love to work with fellow architects, as architecture is my passion, not retail.

Even though I was only able to take a few weeks worth of classes from MOSAIC, they were very intense and fast paced. I liked the speed of the environment, and wish I could have continued. Due to finances and time constraints as I have mentioned before, I was unable to complete classes there. I hope I will be able to pursue another path in terms of ESL classes, and I think I will try online classes, as they are free and perhaps may be less time consuming. I think I will try for this in a few months, after I get settled into my new managerial position.

I do not think I could have done anything differently, except for perhaps saving more money or researching barriers I might face coming to Canada, but I feel that I have grown as a person. Even though my ultimate goal was to create a better life for myself in Canada by pursuing my architecture degree, I feel I have improved my English to some extent. My vocabulary has expanded more and my grammatical errors have reduced. I feel proud for accomplishing something, even though it was not taken in a formal institute.

I am glad that I took the chance to come to Canada, even if I have not reached my initial goals. I have been able to interact with and meet so many people; I feel that I have become more confident in speaking English. I hope to pursue my education and take more classes in the future, perhaps maybe with another year down the road. I look forward to my journey here in Canada and hopefully reaching my goals of establishing myself as an architect!

-Sahar