My name is Darla and this is my final semester as a TRU student. I will be graduating in June with a major in English and a minor in History. It has been a long journey to get to this point. In high school I wanted to be a baker so I applied to two programs. I was accepted into both, but the one I choice to go into was postponed. Following this, I took a gap year to work before applying to Thompson Rivers University. My initial plan was to major in Psychology, but I learned that math, specifically statistics, is not a strong point for me. I had always enjoyed and done well in History and English classes so those became my backup plan.
This past summer was a different kind of learning for me. It involved a lot of personal growth and stepping outside of my comfort zone. The first part came from my first solo trip to Europe, where I met some of my extended family in Slovenia. During this trip, due to missed buses and other factors, I had to learn to become okay with changing my plans. You could argue that I would have already been okay with change, given my past with school. Unlike my time in school, however, I had to figure out what to do next all on my own. My trip ended abruptly one week early when I received a call. Another change of plans. My Nan was not doing well and I needed to go home. Unfortunately, she passed away while I was making my way from Eastern Europe to London to fly back.
I had accepted a job offer for a temporary position working at a youth camp that would start mid-July. This did not give me time to grieve, instead keeping my busy for six weeks. Part of the job included Rediscovery Training. Here I was able to connect with other Indigenous people from all over British Columbia. We learned about each others traditions and shared songs with each other. This also gave me a chance to connect with other Haisla people, which I had not done a whole lot of previously. I feel that this job, training, my time in Europe, and the loss of my Nan helped me become a more independent, open, and easy-going person. While it certainly was not all academic learning, the people I spent time with certainly taught me a lot.