I’ve been on the Coast for a just over one year now. I’ve had my ups and downs since I moved here, but over all I think things have gone pretty well.
I know I’ve complained a few times about the difficulties involved in meeting other young people on the Coast, but I realized recently that I’ve made more friends here in the last year than I realized. There isn’t the tidal wave of social interaction that happens in cities – which until living here I had taken for granted – but slowly I’ve found that I’m settling into the Coastal life.
I meet people my age here every so often. Sometimes it’s a one-time thing – even if we promise to stay in touch – and sometimes it leads to further plans, texting conversations or even small social gatherings, which can’t quite be called parties.
Living here has been a gradual adjustment, but I was surprised the last time I went into Vancouver by how frenetic the city seemed. One of the reasons I wanted to leave Montreal in the first place was that I was becoming overwhelmed by all the people and all the social expectations. Moving to the Coast was a bigger culture shock than I was expecting but, like I said, I’m starting to adjust.
In the last year I’ve learned how to deliver a nice golf swing; I shot a gun for the first time; I saw a decommissioned warship sunk in Halkett Bay; I learned about the neocortical connections of the human brain; and I’ve lost count of how many fancy charity fundraiser dinners I’ve attended.
I’ve faced professional challenges, like taking over the sports desk (the one section of the newspaper I thought I would never have to write for); learned how little I know about small-town politics; struggled through the monotony of technical reports; and forced myself to stay awake through public hearings that seemed to go on forever.
It’s been a challenge, but I like challenges. They push you to learn new things, to adapt, to go places you didn’t know existed. That’s why I chose journalism as a profession. Sometimes I wish I was more motivated by money, and that I had studied business or accounting or something that comes with a colossal pay cheque. But the truth is, I would have become bored within the first month at any of those jobs.
I like that I don’t know what the next year will have in store for me. It’s scary but it’s exciting. I’ll get to learn new things, go to new places and try new experiences. I’ll probably hate some of them, but at least in this job if you hate something, there’s a story in it.
