Although technically it is the 2nd of January, as I just got off work a mear 2 hours ago, it still feels like the 1st to me. That being said, the 1st of January 2017 marks the 5th anniversary of the day I took the biggest risk of my life thus far.
5 years ago, I made the decision to change my life, to start a new, to throw away all the saftey nets, and take a leap of faith. 5 years ago today (yesterday for all of you date and time freaks) marks 5 years from the day I decided to leave behind my life in Ontario, and move to Quebec.
It was not an easy decision to make, it meant having no safety net to fall back on if my life took a tumble like it had in 2010. I have no family out here, and at the time I didn’t have many friends in Quebec would help me out if it didn’t work out. But my life in Ontario at the time had reached its apex, tech jobs were scarce for what I wanted, and I needed to make a change in my life. I needed to take that leap, and have faith in myself that I could survive on my own.
They say (in business) that if you do not succeed in 5 years, chances are you will not succeed at all. In the last 5 years, I have done nothing but succeed. I started off as a clerk at a UPOS Store making part-time minimum wages, barely enough to live on at ~$450 a paycheck. Within 10 months I found a job at an anglophone library where I doubled my wages and started my first real job in the field I was looking to be in (IT), and 2 years after that, and for the last 2 years and a few months, I have been a Radical Support Agent (now a Team Leader) at a competitive data center in downtown Montreal. A job that is almost exactly what I set out to accomplish when I graduated college back in 2004.
There were, of course, hardships along the way… I left most of my friends behind, some of which I have not seen in the last 5 years, some I have had the pleasure of reconnecting with, although some only once since I have moved. And while here on the island, I had a falling out with the friend who was responsible for convincing me to make the move to Montreal which put me into a hard place at the time. And when things looked to be getting better I hit financial troubles when my roommate at the time was out of work due to an injury.
But it’s not all for naught, the hardships I suffered through made bonds with new friends stronger, and have allowed me to take my life further than I have ever gone before. The last 5 years have been a hell of a ride, and it’s a journey I look forward to continuing. For those back in Ontario, I promise this year I will make more of an effort to come visit, and for those friends of mine who are here on the Island, I promise this summer, I will make it to Old Port at least a few times for Drinks, although I no longer live a 15 minute walk from the strip as I have recently moved more towards the centre of the island
This year will also make the year I take my health seriously. I have decided it about time I got myself back to what I should be. One of my resolutions is to quit smoking, something I don’t think will be that hard as it has started to make me sick, and I have gone weeks without before, and I will do it again. I will also strive to eat more health, and get out and walk more. My new place it near a few markets I will explore once the snow takes a hike.
May 2017 bring you all Joy and Happiness. For me, 2017 will be the year I proved to myself, If I can make it on my own for as long as I have, than I can accompish mush greater things if I put my mind to it.
Happy New Years to you all.