A Different Path

At the beginning of grade 12 I thought I had my whole future planned out. I’d go to university the following year and complete a degree in International Development. While that is still my plan, I have just taken a different path to get there. I had the opportunity to go to Mexico for three months to participate in the LiveDifferent Academy program where we learned about social injustices, served in the local community, and experienced personal growth in numerous aspects of our lives.

Originally I was going to complete the Academy and then work for the rest of the year to save up for school. As graduation was getting closer all of my friends were heading off to start their futures, so I started thinking about my next step after the Academy. I began to realize that I could use my time more effectively than just working, and could do something more meaningful. Shortly before leaving for Mexico I went to Hamilton to visit LiveDifferent friends and hangout for the day. I got to visit the road teams while they were training and see a glimpse of what they would be doing for the rest of the year. It was after this that I realized tour was something I wanted to do. It seemed like a very positive environment, which I wanted to participate in. The most intriguing thing to me was that tour is creating change inside of Canada and helping those close to home.

When I arrived in Hamilton for training week I knew that I had made the right decision to come on tour. Our first week consisted of training and making sure everything was ready for the presentations to begin. I felt excited to start the process, but also nervous that I wouldn’t catch on fast or wouldn’t be good at my jobs. Luckily the training week went well and everyone was very understanding and patient while teaching me things they have been doing for months. This week was very beneficial for not only training but for transitioning into a team environment and learning to all work together. We had a week full of laughter, random moments, passion, and hard work to get us ready for our showcase.

As I am the only new intern on my team I think I was the most nervous/excited for our showcase, where we host all of LiveDifferent’s staff and friends to see our newly designed presentation for the spring tour. It was a really cool day seeing how all of our hard work comes together as we gave our presentation. After the showcase everyone was excited and eager to get on tour and start the journey. I am grateful for the incredible people who are filled with kindness that surround me, and I wouldn’t want to be in any other environment. I feel inspired by the people around me and cannot wait for what the next four months have in store for me.

– Danica, LiveDifferent Tour Intern, 2016