MY STORY

Jessica Wu
A Grade 11 Student

The day I arrived to Canada was February 10th, 2011. Since I was still young (10 years old) and I was with my parents when I first came. I was excited and curious rather than scared to start my life in a new country. However, I began to sense the struggle of living away from my homeland when I was in school because as a newcomer I did not share many common interests with my classmates. Since they had known each other since kindergarten and like I was with my friends back in China, I was aware that it is normal for me to feel a little bit like an outsider when I hang out with them. I tried to give myself some time to adjust to the new environment but it seemed to have no use because no matter how hard I tried, there seemed to be still a gap between my classmates and me. It was then I found myself constantly thinking about my friends in China and recalling the happy moments of the time we spent together. Language barrier was also one of the factor that caused the feeling of loneliness inside me because I was not yet able to use the language as fluent as my classmates. Fortunately, on a school occasion I came to know about IYC (Immigration Youth Centre) and the programs that it offer to help youth newcomers in Canada. My mother immediately registered me for the leadership camp and it was there that I realized there were many people like me who were newcomers and were struggling with their school social life. I was the first time that I did not feel isolated and we all had fun together. Soon I became friends with a few girls I met in the camp in which we still keep in contact today. From then and on, I no longer feel as lonely as before and I started to see improvements in my social circle. My classmates began to felt more like "friends" to me and I became more open to them. Though I am no longer a newcomer after having been living in Canada for six years. It is now my turn to help other newcomers to live a better life in this country. To conclude I would give an advice to current and future newcomers: it requires time to fully adjust to a new lifestyle. even if time does not do the job, remember that there are plenty of community resources that are there to provide support whenever and wherever needed.