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Helen,来自深圳的一名高二学生，有多年在国外生活的经历，并且是个Chinese-Canadian。她刚开始只是对OE里面的文章很感兴趣，可是在看到“故事征集令”后，便再也刹不住车，用“火箭”送过来这篇文章。“it might not be perfect, but i hope it’ll do some good.”

――编者

Everyone has those unforgettable memories they will keep for a lifetime. I’ve been to many places, from my motherland China to the other side of the world like Canada. But despite all the exciting travelings and all that, I moved back to China in the end, to attend high school. But in my heart, for some reason, Canada was the place I loved the most. Some people might just ask: Then why not go back to where you love? Well... I can’t explain it in one sentence, but in a nut shell, you could say that it’s a “made-up-my-mind, won’t-regret-it” and because “I have to stay with wherever my family takes me” kind of thing.

Still, I’ve always yearned to go back there soon. Fortunately, my school had a program, an exchange program, because my school had this connection with Canada, so I decided to sign up for that. And that was the story before I flew to Canada eight months ago. Now I’m back from that memorable experience, ready to share how it has changed my life. In one sentence: the exchange has taught me so much that I would never have learnt in China, and I probably wouldn’t be able to learn it as a immigrant or a residential citizen. It has turned me around. The way I look at life, my life; and the way I think of myself.Exchange was really an experience of a lifetime!

I’ve learnt that attitude is really important in everything you do. Taking part in the exchange program means being independent, not depending on your family for whatever you do; it means cooperating with what’s around you. When you face a difficulty, no one’s going to be there to face it for you, but yourself. Kids our age tend to feel afraid and step back, all the pessimistic images appear in our mind and start taking over. During the whole exchange program, being pessimistic doesn’t help any bit. It’s taught me that the only ways I can get over problems were to be optimistic and always look on the bright side. At first, some people tend to not have seen me for who I am. I’ve heard about people judging me and asking about what kind of a girl I am. Some judgments and guesses were pretty upsetting and surprising. So then, I started being a bit afraid; afraid to show who I really am, so afraid that I had to protect myself. Not talking much and getting annoyed pretty easily was what happened to me. But soon enough, I realized that this wasn’t going to do any good. By not talking to people, I shut the door to the outside world, leaving everyone out; by getting annoyed by people easily, I started hurting other people’s heart. I knew, I had to change back. I had to be who I am. It doesn’t really matter what other people think of me, my mind isn’t made up of other people’s opinion. What mattered the most is who I am from my point of view. It’s important to have in mind whose opinion is right to listen to and whose opinion is to neglect. Many problems we meet in life, it’s about what attitude you are going to put toward that problem.

I’ve also learnt that whatever you do, don’t lean or depend 100% on other people to do it for you. You are the one who is walking out each and every one of the steps of your life. It’s your life, not others’. Sometimes, you can count on your friends and family to be there to support you mentally, but whatever you choose or decide to do, it’s up to yourself. You can’t always count on other people to do the walking for you. Small things like going back home from shopping without asking for your homestead to come and pick you up. I know it’s supposed to be their duty to be able to supply us with transportation, but still, being on your own and not replying on people to do something for you isn’t bad for you. When I first got there, I was sort of afraid of going to places on my own, so when I do, I always ask my homestead to pick me up. It seemed pretty normal and convenient at first, but after a while, it seemed to me that I was too dependent on them. Not only did I want them to pick me up, I wanted them to drive me to places too. It was convenient for me, but I realized it was inconvenient for them. So, I started taking the bus home myself. It was my own responsibility to bring myself back home safe and sound. Start being independent from small doings, then, moves on to the big stuff like cooking and relationships. There are sayings like “friends are those who are always there for you” and “family is the only person you can trust”. However, when it comes to reality they could be still there for you, but the person you should have faith in and trust is yourself.

Also, going to Canada again has taught me that improvement has no boundaries. What I mean is that it’s always more important to be better than the best. When I was in China, I had thought that my English was pretty good compared to the others. But now, I have realized that it can be better. Since I’m not a natural born English speaker, there’s a lot more room for improvement. I know that I have more learning and studying to do. Because there is still room for improvement, it gives me strength to try harder and put in more effort. I love English even more now!

Sometimes, you never know what might happen unless you take the chances. I took my chance and look where I am right now! I’m happy, I’m glad I did this and I couldn’t have asked for more.

（责编：王莉娟）