Being born and raised in North Vancouver, I have an unimaginable appreciation and respect for the outdoors, the environment and the people whose land this truly belongs to; the Coast Salish First Nations people. I come from a family that has lived through civil war, genocide and persecution and I feel as though this has given me a better understanding of what the First Nations people of Canada have gone through in the settlement of Europeans and expansion of the West.
In writing this ePortfolio entry, I not only intend to introduce myself, but I also hope this will help me put into practice the act of thinking critically, and reflecting on my past experiences and how they can advance me in my academic world. While reflecting on my academic career at Capilano University, I noticed I lacked practicing one very important factor in my life; goal setting.
While in my graduating year in elementary school, I unfortunately got into a somewhat of a serious car accident that resulted in multiple knee surgeries and a legal case. At the time, I had no idea how much this accident would affect my life, but like many things, there is always good that comes from seemingly negative situations. After dealing with the consequences of someone else’s actions and negligence resulting in the accident, I had an irrational fear of driving. It took me nearly 5 years to gain the yearning to attempting to get my driver’s license. After a many personal pep-talks and a burst of confidence, I took the drivers licensing test and to my surprise, I passed! A few weeks after I got my license, I was looking through an old notebook and found a list of goals I had set for myself a few years prior, and at the very top, I had written “Get driver’s license”.
Although I didn’t set a date or time frame for when I should have my license by, I still believe that this was a sign as to how important goal setting is and how it keeps you on track to accomplish things you set your mind to. I am hoping to instill this idea of goal setting into my schooling and every other aspect of my life.
At a very young age, my eldest brother, Bayan was diagnosed with a brain tumour running along his brainstem and attaching to his spinal cord. This, along with all his surgeries, treatments, and medical needs has had a significant impact on my family and my personal worldview. Growing up with a sibling needing 24-hour care and attention has been a blessing and a curse. Everything we have gone through as a family regarding Bayan’s health has brought us closer together and prepared us for anything else life has to throw at us.
I attribute my love for helping others and my interest in First Nations people to my childhood and upbringing and wouldn’t change it for the world. Before coming into the Liberal Studies program, I was enrolled in the Community Development and Social Change program with hopes of finding work connected to First Nations youth. I began working towards that goal in high school when I started a non-religious youth group on a local First Nations Reserve in North Vancouver.
This youth group brought kids ages 12-15 together to discover and identify with their peoples’ traditional lifeways, celebrations and culture. We studied stories of children around the world facing similar difficulties and discussed ways in which they could deal with said troubles. Although the main focus of this youth group was not only to give the youth a sense of belonging and a place in which they could come together and be safe, but it was also a place of rendering service to the community around them. Within the first two years of the CLSC program, not only did I learn a tremendous amount about myself and my aspirations, I also learned many of the things we are currently studying and will continue to study in LBST through an interdisciplinary model.
I hope to continue my studies and further my education to ultimately work with First Nations people in Vancouver, although I understand it may be difficult to do so due to my limited knowledge in the field and being of an outside community. I hope my years working on the Reserve as well as my time in the CLSC program will aide and assist me in finding and following my destined path.