| The Day of Change… |
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By Lexy Zhong Hamilton, Ontario “The past is the past, the future is the future, don’t regret, look forward to what is to come”. Perhaps you’ve heard this saying before, once or twice. When you make a mistake, take a wrong path, or maybe just heard it on television. Many may follow it but me? I just don’t want to. My past, my heritage, my home was in China, it was until I brought myself over across the borders of China to a place of serenity and peace - Of freedom, of space, of culture and of nature, to a place called Canada. My past may be confusing at times, and perhaps I may change some of it. But for what I have now, my past will be something I would like to hold on forever, because for all I know this may truly be one of the most important things I’ll ever carry throughout for centuries to come without a whimper or a sliver of complaint. The reason is simple, as it holds truth, and well…., this is my story… Twilight came in a gentle breeze. A speck of light shone through the openings of two curtains. It spiraled around the room, dancing through the fearless shadows, as it finally comes to a stop. My heart starts to pound, as the light brings the day closer and closer into my reach. It was the day that I took a step from home and landed in a whole new world. I walked, slowly as I always did, towards the forever memorable bedroom, and I stared at the lonely kitchen. Soon to be filled for a meeting, no, more of a gathering. The dark frightened my nerves, especially when two tall figures emerged from the shadows. “Up already”?, asked the deep and rusty voice as though its projector was tall and sleepy, and yet familiar in a way. My father and mother stood tall and proud as the shadows lifted to let the morning sun capture their faces. This was how it began. It was the first glance, the first breath, the first step and perhaps the first thought that made me want to smile. Shimers of light, a loud and abrupt announcement, and a gentle but strong stop was what left me at my new home. The first glance out the window, at the glistening and clear blue sky, at the flowers that bloomed proudly, at the foreign sign, which I could not understand - it was the beginning of a new life. As I took the first breath, I could even taste the difference, everything was so fresh, or was it just the morning dew? It didn’t matter, nothing mattered then, except for when I took my first step. The first step off the plane really made me feel alive, it allowed me to understand how at home I would soon feel. All the thoughts that came in from one end and out the other really gave me no chance to realize what was happening, and as I stood there, lifeless but happy, without a warning my lips slowly twisted into a smile. Darkness started to surround me. The beautiful aspects of this city was slowly being swallowed into the welcoming hands of nightfall. Every bump, every crack made me shiver, the pine scent of the car made me slightly drowsy, but nothing, not even fatigue could keep my eyes from opening to its widest and brightest. The object in front of me was everything but unnoticeable, it stood tall and strong, its lovely crimson bricks made it special in a way, it made it unique. As my heart started to bloom, twilight started to gather, it took a step back as I took a step forward. I walk towards where my domestic affections will soon be centered, a place that will shelter me when I have nowhere else to go, to a place I’ll soon call home. Friend, is a person whom you know, is like a comrade, someone whom you trust, an acquaintance who you will go to when you are down, when there’s something bothering you, or when there are butterflies roaming around in your stomach. A friend is someone who you can always, always rely on, a friend is someone that will always be there when you fall. A friend is someone that I know that will always be by my side. Even if you travel all the way to another country, there’s always one by my side. It’s really simple; no one, no one can have too many friends. A friend waves a friendly goodbye as I blinked my last look back. As I opened my eyes, they were gone. But a friend was there as I got on the plane, a friend was there as I happily jumped off with a sliver of fear, a friend was there and that friend will always be there. Although as the years pass, and like everyone, we passed, we grew, and started to build a wall between us even as we began anew, with new friends, new jokes, new interests, new voices to hear, but there is something that will always stay the same. No matter how thick the wall will grow to be, no matter how far away we’ll be, we’ll always be friends, friends forever… As I walked through the door, no one was there. It was empty, empty as ever. Not a speck of dust to be seen, nothing but piles and piles of boxes. Boxes of all sizes, colours and shapes. It was the day. The day I left, the day I came, the day of reunion. It was the day I came to Hamilton. After spending many memorable days in the heart of Mississauga, I left the city, moved, moved far, far away to another. It was there I got recognized. Many days have passed by, and one stream of thought keeps running though my head, “this is a mistake, this is a mistake?!” As the seconds, minutes, hours slowly pass by, as the days finally connect and made tomorrow yesterday, I finally understood that it was meant to be. This place is somewhere I’d soon come to love. The year I moved here, I became friends with Anja Djodo, who soon became by best friend. This friend was and may be one of the few closest friends I’ll ever have. We shared many memories, stories, tears, and laughter. It was that year I found my interest. I found my thing for music. I found the special aspects of the violin. It was that year where I took a test like every other year, but unlike the usual test you would spend hours and hours, maybe even days studying for. Unlike a midterm exam or just a simple pop quiz, it was a test that was going to change my life forever… As I became recognized as a gifted student, my life just completely changed, it may have torn my life apart. But for better or worse, this is something I can decide. As I move on, I leave many things behind, some which I still wish I had with me, but as I left them, I gained more things. I gained knowledge, respect, a whole new relationship with Anja, experience, and of course a whole new pack, no, a whole new family; new friends. * * * My life, my past is something I’ll never forget, but learning something new is something I’ll never reject. My past is something I’ll hold on forever, I know I’ve said it a lot but it seems as time passes by, as the minute and hour hands on a clock slowly tick, many things may come at you. But it seems as you’ll always lose something as you live through life, but even though, to me it always seems that I always gain more than I lose. But losing something doesn’t mean you should just throw it away and forget the laughter and memories you have spent with a person or thing - keep holding on to it. Hold on to it forever, and ever, for as long as you live, live your life to it’s fullest, live with what you get, but also live with your memories. Background InformationHistory may have not always been my favourite subject in school. Rather it may have been the subject at the bottom of my “Favourite Subjects” list. But by saying “it may”, doesn’t always mean it’s true. My history and my family history had a big impact on my opinion on the subject “History”. There were many events that happened that got marked down in our family history: many stories told by family members and witnessed by others, now it’s my turn to tell a story. This submission is the story of how the ? and ? (Zhong, Liu) family came to Canada. “Lexy”, Lexy is the name I am called by. But many may also know me as Zhong Huize, ???, or Annie. I had many names, many names that I carried on my back as I leaped from city to city, from Mississauga to Hamilton in search of a new. Mississauga held many memories of friends and happiness, but it was here in Hamilton that my eyes finally opened. It was here in Hamilton when I discovered a passion for the violin, became acknowledged as a gifted student, and here in Hamilton; I made the best of friends. |
