Montreal- Discover Your Identity

Things in life come, and things in life go, and as they go one tends to reflect. Nearing the end of my experience here in Montréal I have definitely spent some time reflecting. I reflect on the fun memories I have had, the challenges I have experienced, and most importantly what I have learned about myself. I was recently asked to create a slogan for Montréal, and for me that slogan would have to do with the theme of identification.

As I have said before, Montréal (and Canada as a whole) struggles with their identification as a country in the world. Identification can be learned by looking at the experiences you have had that makes you who you are now. 4 months ago I can say I entered Canada being much more naïve, inexperienced and quiet honestly unconfident in living somewhere other than what I was use to. I have never been someone who is comfortable with change, but by forcing myself to do something I was uncomfortable with has helped me gain confidence. I have realized that it’s important to face ourselves with little challenges in order to help us grow. The simplest thing can teach you something about yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t have known.

Something that I have struggled with my whole life is giving presentations in front of a class. I’ve always had classes with about 20-30 people in them, which can be quiet intimidating for a inexperienced presenter. At the Montréal campus, I give my presentations with ease in front of 7-10 people which has helped me build a lot of confidence in my public speaking skills. I now know that I have more confidence to give presentations in the future to larger groups of people. This is a skill I doubt I would have otherwise learned had I not come to this Montréal campus.

It is the little challenges that face us on a day to day basis that we can choose to face head on, or ignore and deny ourselves the chance to grow as a person. With that being said, I think that an appropriate slogan for this Montréal campus would be: “Montreal- Discover Your Identity”.

Walking Shoes

Living in the city has giving me the chance to experience a taste of what living the life of a celebrity might feel like. Last week I went to the trendy nightclub Tribe, where many celebrities ranging from Paris Hilton to Rihanna have made appearances. That night Sebastian Ingrosso from Sweden was the featured DJ and he put on quiet the show! The lights, fog horn, and confetti (not to mention the great house music) all made for an entertaining show.

Now that’ it’s April the school year is winding down and so is my bank account. I’ve had to be really careful about budgeting and I must say, I’m quiet proud of myself for being such a good shopper! When I first came to Montreal I was spending upwards of $50 a week on groceries. Now I’ve managed to cut back on average to about $30. After very much exploring and wandering on random streets I’ve found little ma and pop stores that specialize in certain foods which cost a fraction of what you would find in the big supermarkets.

A general rule of thumb I’ve learned about living in a city: the more you’re willing to walk, the more you’re going to find! Sounds simple but being a routine person I would normally tend to walk the same way to school and pass the same stores day after day. Especially now that it’s warmer I am more likely to go out of my way to get somewhere just so I could pass down a street I’ve never been down before. You can’t fall into a routine when you live in a city, if you do you’ll miss out on a huge part of the city.

So once you’ve applied for the Montreal campus, I suggest buying a good pair of walking shoes so you can experience the city to its fullest!