YOUTH ARE AWESOMEA PROGRAM OF YOUTH CENTRAL

Finally, we’ve reached Canada’s 150th. This is the perfect occasion to look back at some of the milestones that we’ve passed together, and what they meant for the development of Canada as we know it.

The Founding of the Hudson’s Bay Company

The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was the original large fur trading corporation on Canadian soil. Founded in 1670, its operations encompassed a large portion of Canadian soil. The HBC showcased the willingness of the explorers and the First Nations to cooperate and do business with each other, and create mutual value for each other. Without the operations of the Hudson’s Bay Company, it would be very possible that the exploration and expansion into new Canadian territory may have occurred much later or perhaps even not at all. The HBC persists today as North America’s oldest retailer chain, operating stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor.

The original HBC headquarters

The War of 1812

The War of 1812 was very special as the only occurrence of a major military conflict on Canadian soil. At the time, the Americans were very unhappy about a British naval blockade, and so they unleashed their discontentment by attempting to annex Canada. Canadians ended up successfully defending our territory. From this point on, no further major military conflicts have occurred on Canadian soil, while Canada continued to be strong on the international stage with intervention in global battlefields as a peacekeeping force. The War of 1812 also serves as a source of Canadian pride for our sovereignty and capability to defend ourselves.

An artist’s iconic depiction of the War of 1812

Confederation

The Canadian Confederation, the most monumental piece of legislation in Canadian history that established the very basis for Canada, was founded on July 1, 1867. The anniversary of Confederation is why we celebrate Canada Day on July 1. The agreement signed originally only included four provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, but it quickly expanded to the ten provinces and three territories that we know today. In order to create this document that defines Canadian politics, the Founding Fathers from each region of the early Canada all came together for many days of deliberations to see the interests of each of their territories represented. The Confederation has been expanded multiple times to become more comprehensive, with additions such as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

A portrait of the Founding Fathers

Terry Fox

Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope was a more modern event that made a huge impact for Canada. We all know about the story behind Terry Fox and his motivation to raise more money for cancer research. He was truly a Canadian hero, as he showcased the best of Canadian society and spirit to the world. His perseverance allows him to be a role model for children around the world. In the modern day, his legacy is upheld with over $650 million Canadian dollars raised for cancer research under his name.

The Marathon of Hope that started it all

Canadian Innovation

This last item on this list is not a single event or occurrence, but rather a combination of the results of the inventive Canadian spirit. Canadians have been credited for the invention of the telephone and the light bulb, which were both world changing devices. In the modern day, Canada has been at the forefront of the global pack in technology innovation, with technology such as the Canadarm working on the International Space Station. And of course, who could forget the Canadian invention that everyone enjoys the most: Poutine.

Poutine will forever be the greatest (and tastiest) Canadian invention

In the modern day, we are all thankful for the country that Canada is, and all the events in our history that led up to what we are today. Here’s to 150 years already, and for many more successful years down the road!

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As I was getting ready for grad, I thought it would be fun to ask some of my friends about their stories about getting ready for prom.

A friend of mine decided to come with her family, my best friend with her a date, and a good friend of mine with her last minute date. Although I would have loved input from my guy friends they really weren’t as enthusiastic about it as the girls were. So here are their prep stories and some of their best memories from graduation. And for privacy purposes I have allotted all of them a title, along with a brief description of their gowns and who they came with, and why and how they chose their dresses and a few other things.

The Girl with the Cape:

The girl with the cape had a literal cape-like custom addition to her beautiful blue beaded gown. She decided to come with her family since they wanted to share the memories of her grad with her, she also sat with her best friend and his new girlfriend. She had settled on many dresses before she settled on the one she liked best.

What was your best memory from that night?

It would have to be having a bonfire till 3 in the morning with my close friends and laughing and just listening to great music and making memories

The Organized One:

This girl had her dress, shoes, hair and makeup planned since about December! Never had I met a more organized person for this one night. She bought a beautiful pink dress with intricate beading and I had the honour of going with her to her dress fitting. That day her and her boyfriend picked out about 23 dresses for me to try on, and I did fall in love with this beautiful mermaid two piece lace burgundy gown. But unfortunately it was not meant to be.

She didn’t have to try on too many dresses, she just fell in love with hers. And her boyfriend even wore a pink tie to match!

What was one of your favourite things to do before grad in relation to grad?

I loved going out with my friends and making them try on dresses, its just like real life dress up

The Two Inch Heel One:

This girl found her dress almost right away after starting her search! She is one of the few lucky ones. She bought a beautiful royal blue mermaid gown with black waist line and bustier detailing. Although she hadn’t figured out her nails nor hair nor makeup till about a week before she didn’t end up liking her hair. But what was amazing was that she prioritized comfort over looks at least for her feet, which was helpful for her in the long run. She asked her guy best friend to be her date with balloons and a poster and posted it on social media!

What made your grad special?

Having one of my best friends come out and surprise me and having a lot of my family come out to support me and definitely sharing that dance with you haha.

These were just some of the experiences my friends and I had, and I think everyone has a little different story to tell. Each one is unique like the person that wears the suit. tux or dress.

Whats yours?

    Humans are all born free, soaring in whatever direction pleases them, enjoying moments of life as they come. And, perhaps, Muslims are anything but human, caged birds, born on the grave of dreams, bound by metal rods. Your silence will inevitably be your death, and if you speak for justice, for the equality that all humans deserve, you are isolated to death. So, speak, unleash your thoughts into this enigma of a world that we live in, and die at ease.

   The night before school started, after Isha prayer, my rambunctious family had gathered around the television screen, my brothers lounging on the sofa, immersed in their usual cartoons, while my dad and I had chosen to sit on the ground, cross-legged. My mum distributed our plates to us, full of spicy and tender chicken tikkas, with toasted naan bread, as my mouth had watered just at the sight and the aroma that filled the lounge. As she handed my dad his chai, and in the midst of a leisurely conversation, my mother had smoothly changed topics, “Khadija, have you called your Aunt Komal yet?” she casually asked, and then hastily added, “You should call her soon. She called, I think, three times just this week.” I should have been ready to escape the situation, or at least say something that would get her off my back, but I was always a little flustered. A relative would get bored, call my mother and ask about me. It was all in formality, but my mum would persistently bother me to talk to those from our community. Those who understood me because we were the same skin color, the same religion. She would always tell me to talk to all the Muslim girls at school, and even invite them to our house, but to stay clear of the others, because they didn’t like us. They were better than us. I was utterly confused and terrified of this new idea that my mum had presented to me, just before high school started. Had I done something wrong? What made them better?

    At this childish age, I was clueless that I was a mere pawn in a game, the game of a life, so ruthless and uncompassionate. In time of need, even the king, and all the players becomes suspicious of their queen for moving out of position, for speaking out against the false accusations. In all this absurdity, those closest to me would begin to label me as a terrorist, and their reasoning? I had decided to wear a hijab. A Muslim in Sajdaa, on her knees and face rested on the mat ahead has more strength than all the players in the game of life, and all their discriminatory, hypocritical inconsistencies.

    When the mention of ISIS had shown up on television that night, with towns shown as piles of bodies and blood, my mum had hurriedly shut off the television, scrambling to find the remote in the clatter of things around us. Her once bold character was gone, disappearing into thin air, as if it never existed. I was used to her screaming at me, telling me to stay clear of boys, and those Christians, but this was an entirely different side to her. She was scared, that much was obvious by her knitted brows and diverting eyes, scared that even watching such things on television would get us deported, that because we were Muslim, there was always something to be scared of. I pulled the remote out of her grasp, and turned on the television, despite her cries to turn it off. Why should I be afraid? I had done nothing wrong, I had thought to myself, as the light on the television blinked rapidly to indicate that it was indeed turning on. “A mother of two has been caught trying to flee the United States to join ISIS, the Muslim-based organization in Syria,” the stony-eyed, white man had warned, his lips curving down in distaste, almost as if he was cautioning everyone watching to beware of all Muslims. My frown went unnoticed as my entire family was consumed in their own thoughts, with eyebrows drawn in and up, the skin between their brows in triangulated wrinkles, and their noses scrunched. They were all so worried, but for what reason? My mum had told my brothers to leave, go upstairs to their rooms, and study. She said that they were too innocent, that they weren’t ready for all of this yet. My dad had stopped drinking his chai, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Then, shaking his head, he had stated my exact thoughts in his somewhat understandable enunciation, “ISIS is not Muslim. With this propaganda… women should be least likely to join ISIS. Stories of women being used as slaves, raped, they -” His lips had tensed, firmly pressed together and drawn back as if controlling himself from releasing profanities of all sorts.

    Was that woman crazy? Insane, brainwashed, senseless? How on earth can someone thinking of leaving the United States for a region where electricity arbitrarily disappears, and freedom ceases to exist? All the possible causes were roaming through my head. I had wanted to snatch the hair out of my scalp; the feeling was inexpressible, one that I never want to experience again. There was just too much going on in my head. While I was used to breezing through questions in tests of all sorts, this problem was too complex for me to solve. Maybe, the western world and all of its judgmental people had labeled her as a terrorist, when she was only a Muslim. Even, she, an innocent woman, soon enough, had become what they were most scared of. Maybe, the greater evil, rather than these upcoming Muslim terrorist organizations is western hypocrisy. If a solely white terrorist organization were to be created, they would never say it was because of their religion, right?

    We were all humans, until religion divided us, and a straight, sturdy line was drawn with permanent sharpie, with the phrase “Muslims Stay Out” bolded, capitalized, and italicized on top of the line. It determined who was better, who was worse, and who was labeled as a terrorist. Being Muslim had me labeled as a terrorist throughout my high school years, but did I blame anyone? Hardly, it was all about the situation of the world at that time, with all the terrorism and mass murders. Everyone was bound to be scared but, fear was supposed to unite us against the evil, not have us turn on each other, or so the world had always said in flowery, meaningless and overly exaggerated phrases.

    Throughout my sixteen years of life, with piercing eyes, my mum had always simply stated in her brusque authoritative voice, nothing more and nothing less, as if were the most obvious of things, “We have a reputation to maintain. Opinions matter.” She would often roll her eyes, or raise her hands to her head in a dramatic fashion, if I ever dared to wear leggings, without a shirt ending precisely below my knees. When my auburn matted hair would fall limply on my shoulders, my mother would approach me with squinted eyes, pulling my hair into a tight bun, and then snatching a hijab from the collection scattered about the house. Then, she would firmly pass it to me. Even when no words were spoken, I understood that my dressing style would have people gossiping about us, calling my mother shameless, for failing to teach her daughter how to dress of all things. I never protested against her efforts to control me, however extreme. Being a Muslim was important to me too, and so, I had decided to wear a hijab.

    The first day of grade eleven, a throng of girls had surrounded me, not to praise me and see which glamorous accessories I had worn, but to mock my religious attire, associating it with terrorism, oppression, and submission, as they had turned their lips upwards in a sneer.

“Terrorist, freak!”

“Stop bombing our cities! ISIS! What the hell is on your head you bomber?”

“You Muslim…how did a terrorist like you get here?”

    I had shrunk into a crinkled ball of paper, cowering in the corner of my seat, surprised by the scene in front of me. They were supposed to be my friends. When I had finally mustered up the courage and spoken up, defending myself and arguing with all intention of clearing the name of Muslims that are innocent, they had yelled vulgarities at me. All Muslims weren’t bad; I had wanted to scream at them, to show them that I could yell too, but I knew that wouldn’t solve anything. It was hopeless to argue with parochial people who knew nothing, who failed to understand. Just because I was Muslim, it didn’t mean that I was a terrorist. Reaching out for my headphones from my printed back-pack beside me, I had speedily plugged them into my phone, impatient for bliss to overtake me, to escape this world. A beautiful Islamic poem had echoed in my ears. But, within mere moments, my phone had been snatched away from me, as they had gazed at the screen of my phone and began judging me for listening to an Islamic poem, for following what I believed in. Once again, their vulgar phrases had pierced my ears, as tears had welled up in my eyes, threatening to fall with a single blink. I was just me, Khadija.

“We all bleed red.”

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Home, something some of us identify as a house, an apartment, somewhere we live; for some of us its two eyes and a heart beat, and for me, its UBC. As strange as it sounds, its my home. It was the first place I lived in Canada, and I just fell in love with the place.  The trees, the openness, the ocean, Jericho beach, the trails by Acadia, the professors, the big houses, the sense of community the place brings and the perfection the pace holds for me in my heart is truly irreplaceable. But I guess that’s what home is supposed to be right? This one perfect place where you feel best, most calm, most yourself and a place that holds your element. When I last went back to UBC, I could have sworn I was going to cry if I wasn’t in a bus full of my band mates. It was perfect, most of the cherry blossoms were in bloom, the streets were empty, there were students everywhere and it was a little over cast at first, and if it had been raining it would have been my haven, but it turned out be bright and sunny.

I first moved to UBC in 2007, and it was home for me right away. My soon to be best friend was my neighbour who was 5 years old when I first met her. Since day one till today, I treat her like a little sister. Although when I saw her this time, she was so much more grown up and mature it was hard for me to digest. Anyways her parents are my god parents, to give you a sense of how close I am with these people. There were a few other batch mates that my family is still good friends with and were all family and have been since UBC. It was one of the first things I learned in UBC, that family doesn’t end with blood, family is made. We’re a very big family and expanding with some of them getting married and having kids its just growing and its a fantastic family. Every time we go back to visit, that week, every day, we see some of them and at least twice we have a big family dinner where all of get together catch up, eat and just make memories.

I was never good at making nor sustaining friends since I was 2 years old. I have been bullied for 15 years in my life its taught me a lot. But I hadn’t found my voice until I was 8. I was bullied physically and verbally by many kids in my grade three class because my age dictated I be in grade two, but I was in grade three and four classes for my subjects. But predominantly because I was the new kid in school. I usually had my lunch in the bathroom stalls for the first few weeks until a sweet little Korean girl, who’s name I won’t reveal for privacy purposes invited me to lunch. She was the first and my only friend in that school apart from my little sister. This girl was not only sweet and kind she helped me stand up for myself. Once I was being bullied and this was at the beginning of our friendship and she stood up for me. She taught me that being silent does nothing, that raising your opinion and voice makes your heard and known and not looked as weak or venerable. My mother always had taught me to be silent to the bullies because she told me they would react even more. But this girl taught me that don’t stoop to their level but don’t just stand their without a voice. I was eight when I stood up to my bullies for the first time but it certainly wasn’t the last.

This is also the place I learned to not be afraid. As a child I used to be insecure about my voice. My parents then brought me to a classical Indian singer who coached me for years and helped me grow as a singer. Little did I know expanding my range would also help me grow as a person. Within six months, I performed at a few local community events and went on to join the school’s choir. I was outgoing since day one because I moved so much and it was up to me to approach people. But I never voiced my opinion till much later on, I almost never raised my hand in class and I dreaded being put on the spot. Singing helped me grow out of my shell to spread my wings and find my love for speech giving, debating and MUN.

There are many things this place taught me and if I listed them all this article wouldn’t be short of a few thousand words. But this place is my home because it has given me so much, throughout the years its always been there in my life and has helped me be who I am today and I consider my roots as a human being to be there.

Now although I would recommend seeking out every corner of Vancouver, I do not think it will be possible in just one or two road trips. I still haven’t done it and I lived there for a year. So out of my list, though it was painstakingly awful for me to just pick 9, these are the places I think it should be mandatory to see in Vancouver

1. Granville Island

In my previous post about my Vancouver trip I raved about the wonders in Granville island, be sure to check it out!

2. Chutney Villa

This is a south Indian restaurant that has some of the best Idili I have ever tasted and that’s saying a lot because my godparents are south Indian and make the best food! There’s a wide variety to choose from and it’s not very spicy so fear not but your taste buds will only go for a roller coaster ride of flavour and won’t be burnt off.

3. Stanley Park

This is one of my favorite places on the planet. I have a lot of childhood memories here and  this place is one of the best spots to have a picnic or a bike ride or do anything active here. My family and I have organized countless picnics here with our friends and it’s a perfect date spot, as well. With the tankers taking off and the recreations yachts coming closer to the docks, its a place to remember. Whenever you g0 there, regardless of the time, people are running, walking their dogs or even taking their babies out to stroll and many people bike around quite a bit as well.

4. Vancouver Aquarium

This year it was my 5th time going to the Vancouver Aquarium but every time it is a different experience for me. I love to get soaked by the whales every time. But this time was different for me, this time I was just with friends. But enough about my experience this time. This is an amazing place for all ages you get to interact with different species, there are amazing places for Instagram shots and they have one of the very few 4-D theaters. Their 4-D theater always has amazing features and you’re guaranteed to always get splashed and don’t worry you won’t get soaked just a small spray, but it always takes you by surprise no matter how much you think you know its coming.

5. UBC Campus

This place is my home. It was the first place I lived at in Canada. It’s a massive campus with some of the most beautiful places ever! The grand clock tower near Acadia complex to the beaches down by the million dollar homes, to the main campus buildings, theres always something around the corner that takes your breath away! Its a great place to bike, skateboard, or walk around even drive around! Although I recommend all forms of transportation except driving through there because there are a handful of places you can only access by bike, foot or skateboarding and you get the full authentic experience out of a car. There’s so much to see and eat and do, you won’t be bored ever. I can’t speak for others, but it is like the first time every time.

6. Gastown

It’s one of the nicest spots in Vancouver for your high end shops and one of the best places to roam around, get lost, and indulge in amazing authentic Columbian coffee. And its actually a great place for dates and at night this place is magical. There’s a lot of history in Gastown about Vancouver and is one place I wish I had revisited in the last few years.

7. Cupcake Girls

A few years back they used to have their own show about their bakery, but I knew this shop before I ever even watched the show. Their cupcakes have a luxurious texture and are massive and are a little bit more on the expensive side of cupcakes but believe me, $10 is well spent in this place. If you have ever been to Crave Bakery in Calgary and you think that they are good, wait till you go to the Cup Cake Girls shop.

8. China Town

China town is the #1 place for my mother to get seafood, spices, and her cooking essentials. This place literally feels like you’re in a authentic real Asian market, there are people negotiating, there’s people yelling, indulging on treats on the spot and it smells just like the salty fish markets in most areas. It for me felt like most Indian streets and markets, except a lot cleaner and a lot more fish than veggies.

9. Downtown

Just like Gastown, Granville island, UBC campus, this is a place to explore. Theres the Telus science world, amazing coffee shops and restaurants that are gems, and there are little shops that are just fun to browse around.

Overall any city is a great city to explore, but not all of us have big enough budgets to fly out to European countries to search out and discover hidden gems in big cities in other countries. Why not start on improving your exploring skills right here at home in Canada?