I am Mariana Raimondo, I was born on May 26, 1995, in Cordoba Argentina, where I grew up and lived most of my life. I will start from the very beginning which is the base of my foundation, my home. Home is where my family is. My home is Argentina — it’s where my heart is and where my story begins. My family is a family of four: my dad, my mom and my younger brother (Rodrigo,) who is 22 years old and currently living in Argentina.
Growing up, I excelled in school while my brother found his success in sports, although, as a child I did also try many sports. My dad, who is a doctor, always transmitted the idea that sports are really important for a healthier and happier life, so he always made sure his children were involved in these types of activities. When I was five, I started attending a dance school and I absolutely loved dancing (and still do). Through dancing I can express many things I cannot with words. I tried ballet and jazz, and my parents would come to every show to watch me perform. As I write this, I bring back to my mind the smell of the powdered pine rosin we used for our ballet shoes to reduce slipping; I remember the beautiful costumes, dresses, tutus, and the extravagant make ups my mom used to put on my face. I still remember how excited it felt to go on the stage and perform with the other kids. I would always be looking through the audience to find my parents’ faces, smiling and waving at me.
As I grew up, I wanted to try new things, so I quit dancing for a bit and tried other sports, including: skating, volleyball, swimming, hockey (with my brother), handball, and tennis. My dad has always played tennis, and he made sure to teach me and my brother how to play, but again, I quit after a couple years. My brother instead has succeeded and become a really good player; he is currently playing provincial tournaments and he is a tennis instructor as well. He and my father both share the same passion for the sport. After some years, I went back to my dream sport, dance, but I am currently not dancing, however I hope one day I can find myself in a dance studio reliving those feelings all over again. Now I want to talk about my mom.
My mother was born and raised in Peru, and she moved to Argentina when she turned 21 to study and work, and this is where she met my dad. My mom is the hardest working person I know and a real model for me. She has always stressed the importance that being independent has for women, and I fully agree. She also shares with me the passion for travelling. She used to travel a lot when she was young, and now I am trying to follow in her footsteps and travel as much as I can. She always supports me in all my crazy travelling ideas. So far, I have been to 18 countries and I am always looking for the opportunity to plan a new trip. I don’t think there is something that makes me as happy as visiting new places, meeting new people on the way, learning about other cultures and ways of living, and leaving my mark every place I go. Travelling has broadened my perspective, and it has taught me to see the world through different lenses and to appreciate what life offers us. Sometimes I feel the urge to pack up everything and head out to explore the world. My mom, my dad, my brother, my family, and home have inspired me to always follow my dreams, to never give up, and to always find a reason to smile and be grateful every day.
Another important part of my life is Canada. In 2013 my family decided to emigrate to Canada for the first time. It was a hard decision for my parents to make as I was just finishing high school. I had just graduated with my friends with whom I had attended school since kindergarten. I was living one of the best stages of my life not aware of what was coming next.
That February 19, before landing to Regina, I looked through the plane’s window and saw the whole city covered in white. It was a cloudy cold day, I was still crying, I never wanted to come to Canada, I never wanted to leave home, my friends, and the dreams I wanted to make true in Argentina. I knew I had to start my life from zero, not even being able to speak since I did not know any English. But my life in Canada had started and the worst part was yet to come. I had to take English classes for a whole year to learn English and to get accepted into University. My friends back home were already studying, I would see their pictures in social media and cry again and again. I wanted that life back. Later that year, I started looking for a job, and my first job was at Wal-Mart as a cashier — this was my first job ever. I was ready to practice my English and become better in the language, however, the first months as a cashier were so frustrating. I did not know how to say many things in English. There were so many new words I had to get used to, and customers sometimes didn’t help. They were always in a rush, and they would make no effort to understand me with my accent and mistakes. I would get home every night after eight never-ending hours of work and cry. This wasn’t the life I wanted to have, I wanted to study, to be understood, and to succeed in life. I also missed my big city of Cordoba. In Regina I had no place to go, nowhere and no-one to have fun with during the weekends. Our whole life had taken a 180-degree turn. Everything, and I mean everything, was different. We didn’t even have our food, and all the restaurants in Regina that were “Latin American restaurants” were Mexican. We would go there and try to convince ourselves that that food tasted a little bit like ours, but it never did. After that hard year, we moved back home, as expected. We needed to breathe that home air, and to feel at home again. I started University in Argentina and everything was going pretty well, however, after two and half years, as I was becoming more mature, I started thinking more about my future. I realized the economic situation my country was facing and how hard it was getting to find a job, and how difficult it was to even save up money without asking my parents for help. This is when I finally decided to move back to Canada, but this time, with a different perspective and with a different mindset. I realized right away the opportunities Canada had for me, even as an immigrant. I started university, even though I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to be in life. I started to take some first year classes, and to get involved in different extracurricular activities. I also found a job and became so busy that I didn’t even have time to miss home. I started to think on my future, I was becoming more independent and slowly achieving my goals. Overall, I think I can call Canada my home also. After everything I had been through, with its ups and downs, Canada now also feels like home.
At some points in my life, I had no idea I wanted to be a teacher. At other points, I knew deep down this was what I was meant to be. My grandmothers were both teachers, and as a child I loved to hear their experiences and stories from their classrooms. I feel like that is where teaching started to be one of my dream careers. It was after a volunteer job I had at a kindergarten, at Sacred Heart Community School, that this feeling of becoming a teacher reappeared and started growing. Now that I am finally enrolled in the Faculty of Education, I know this is the right place for me, and as I navigate through my program, the yearning to teach is becoming bigger and bigger.
I think my story has slowly shaped myself and has showed me what type of person I am, the things I want to accomplish in life, and the obstacles I have to overcome. The experiences I had in my life, especially the difficult ones, helped me realize how strong I am, to stand up for what I believe in, and to never give up on the things I love. When I think of everything I have been through, I realize that the moments where I first felt lost were the moments where I ended up finding myself. This is why I believe that challenging ourselves and expanding our comfort zone, brings positive changes to our lives.
Still, we should never forget who we are and where we come from (our roots). I’m excited to keep learning and growing, and to keep finding places I can feel like home. Lastly, I look forward to see what the future holds for me and to finally walk through the journey of being a teacher.