Member-only story
I’m Cutting Ties with My Home Country
After 10 years there’s no going back
I didn’t leave because the grass was greener; I left because I wanted to experience a different shade of green.
Ten years ago, when I moved from South Africa to Canada, I wanted my friends and family to follow. I was not the first from my circle of friends and family to leave S.A, but the most recent, to immigrate. I heard it all, from comments such as:
“It’s so cold in Canada!”
“What will you do there?”
“I don’t think I can leave my family,” with such casualty that it made me feel like I was abandoning mine.
On the contrary, I was doing this for my family. If I went and made a life for myself, I could then encourage my siblings and sponsor my parents. And that’s what I did — my brother and his family, along with my parents, now call Canada home, as do my entire in-law family.
“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello .”
— Paulo Coelho
Trust new beginnings
Change isn’t easy, and I get that. But, for a better life, I will always be willing to take a swig, no matter how bitter or…
