Had you asked me a year ago where I thought I’d be today, I probably would have told you about working my I.T. job, finding a nice apartment in or around Niagara Falls, camping in Northern Ontario, and spending obscene amounts of time playing and collecting video games. The life I’d built, and just about all my family and friends were in Niagara. It seemed reasonable to me to stay and try launching a career in Ontario. There had always been a part of me that wanted to come out here and continue my education, but it had seemed the less likely, prohibitively expensive option.
In all honesty, I applied to UBC almost purely out of curiosity. I’d finished 2 years of college with good grades, and wanted to see if this prestigious university had any interest in someone like me. As it turned out, I was accepted, and the possibility of working towards a degree in Computer Science became real. I spent a lot of time debating my next move, and for a time it seemed as though I was going to let the opportunity fall through the cracks in favour of the life I was already living. Clearly I was unable to resist the adventure, challenges, and opportunities that UBC represents, and as a result I’ve found myself around 4,500 km away from where I thought I’d be.
I’ve been here just over a month after a long but epic road trip across Canada in my Chevy Cruze. I’ll never forget that fateful day in July when my friend and I crammed what was essentially my entire life into the back of a car and left Niagara Falls (in southern Ontario) to begin our long journey westward. He would later return home for another year of school in his game development program, while I would remain here to build a brand new life. Saying goodbye to my family was probably the most difficult part for me. I’m 24 and I cried like a baby the night before we left, hugging my mom and knowing it would be a very long time before I’d see her again. I am obviously the epitome of manliness.
The trip itself was a completely different kind of challenge. I’d heard that B.C. was going through a bit of a drought before I left, but I guess the rest of Canada wasn’t planning to follow suite because it rained quite a bit as we traveled. We had one good night in Ontario, which we used to camp in Algonquin (I highly recommend it if you find yourself out there). The following day and a half it rained until we managed to get out of the province. We camped in Manitoba and woke up to more rain, which made for a pretty miserable morning as we scrambled to dry and pack away our gear as best we could. Saskatchewan was flat, windy and cloudy, but pleasantly dry. The prairies felt so empty and lonely compared to any place I’ve ever been. In Alberta we finally managed to get some sun, and after meeting up with an old friend in Lethbridge we decided to camp in Banff, where we met a really awesome musician from Quebec. He lumbered over to our site a few time to borrow our tools, his waist equipped with a belt that held a series of unique harmonicas which he played into the night.
We woke up early the next morning because more rain was on its way. We managed to beat the downpour by about an hour, and made our way into B.C. for the final leg of our drive. My friend fell asleep in the passenger seat around Kamloops, which of course meant that I made a wrong turn on the highway that cost us a good 3 hours. It was a happy accident though, as we were able to fully experience the Okanagan in all it’s dry, barren splendor. We found a forest fire around Ashcroft that was being battled by planes, and as we watched the smoke billow into the blue sky, we hoped that some of the rain we’d faced had followed us to help combat the blaze.
Finally, we arrived in North Vancouver to stay with my aunt and uncle. In the short time that I’ve been here, I’ve managed to secure a place to live, and a part-time job in the village. I hit up the Pride Day parade, spent time in Whistler, Vancouver Island and Harrison Lake, went cliff diving in Lynn Canyon, and used just about every method of public transportation this city has to offer. In spite of everything I’ve done up until now, the biggest adventure lies ahead. UBC, you are my next frontier, and I’m going to throw everything I’ve got into this new life.
Bring it on.