This year has truly changed me in more ways than the previous three preceding it have. As this final semester of my undergraduate career comes to an end, I am filled with contradicting feelings: excitement and anxiety, optimism and nostalgia. Moving to Vancouver was the ultimate game-changer because it has given me a taste of life after SFU. Distancing myself from the insulated bubble that is perched atop Burnaby Mountain gave me a reality check—or more accurately, a confirmation that one’s dreams can actually be realized.
Since I was old enough to remember Vancouver as a child, I knew that I wanted to live there—er, here. Now settled in a great old apartment building in the heart of East Vancouver, I could not be more content. I adore my neighborhood and smile every day because of how amazing it is.
But my happiness is riddled with underlying fear, for once my student loan dries up and my Family Bank closes its doors to me as part of the appropriate transition from “Needy Student” to "Needy adult", I must rely on myself from here on end.
It is a strange feeling to be released from the chains of academia, which on the one hand held me mentally hostage to a world of abstract theories and considering abstract questions about the universe, while on the other hand sheltered me from worrying about where I would be in five years, or two years, or the next summer...All that mattered was making it to the next deadline. That being said, all the while I would formulate plans and then re-plan and counter-plan my future career path, and within the context of “future” it was a lot easier to be bold and adventurous—and now it is not so easy. 
The key, I know, is to not stop dreaming big, not to stop raising the bar of what is possible and what could be possible. I must remember that the only limits I have are the ones I place on myself. How else could there be so many inspiring people my age who are in the same exact position as I am, making their dreams come true? Any obstacle can be overcome; limitations are always perceived. I must, however, acknowledge my tremendous amount of luck since the hand I was dealt was indeed a rare one: Being born in Canada, having a Super-Mom and incredible supportive friends, and being able to see and take advantage of opportunities have all contributed to my position today.
And I am grateful for all that I have as often as I think of it. Whatever happens tomorrow, or after my last final exam, or a month thereafter, I know now that I will be ready to work hard and put my own dreams out of my head and onto a To-Do List.
