From Portugal to Canada - Free Essay Describing the Relocation Experience

At times, changes can be frightening and dramatic though it creates room for development and experience about certain factors in life. Over the last few years since I relocated from Portugal to Canada on June 24th, 2013 to start college, alone in a new environment, I found myself without friends or family members nearby. My life got twisted by these dramatic circumstances, but I resisted the impermanence of these events and struggled with embracing change. Changes continued to materialize, and my life was moving much faster than I was able to handle. I was shell-shocked by my new surroundings and college. I felt overpowered by my new campus life, its challenges, and loneliness even though I attended classes of 200 students. I had to encounter the responsibilities of independence and adulthood. These dramatic changes brought along feelings of, fear, loneliness and anxiety.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Due to unavoidable situations, I had to leave my grandparents in Portugal, to visit a state that I had only heard tales about and seen pictures of, in magazines. In the beginning, I was nervous, moving to an entirely different region though it essentially became my second home. I slowly adapted and began loving it. I did not anticipate too much difficulties being in Canada. The Canadians were welcoming to foreigners unlike I first thought. The greatest challenge would be to adapt to a new lifestyle. In Canada, there is a work-life balance. An individual is expected to create personal time, and there is scope for own development. In Portugal, the work culture is entirely different. That will take more time to adapt. There will be more social events to attend in Lisbon, something unusual in Toronto. Besides, Lisbon (the white city), is one of the most famous and coolest places in the world and one easy to adapt.

Despite all, I was impressed by the Canadian lifestyle, favorable weather conditions, kind people, best college education and general better life that made me more fascinated. I realized that sometimes concentrating on the positive sides of things is better than dwelling on the negative especially during dramatic changes. In every circumstance in my life, I held high expectations for my family, my education and generally, my life. I expected each to stay constant and last forever, but I realized that no situation in life is permanent. Persons may have reasonable expectations of how they would prefer to be, but they cannot stick to those outcomes. Having less or no expectations about particular situations can help one accept whatever result. When you have possible expectations, do not demand a particular result because you are better able to manage any change that pops your way. Unreasonable expectations are likely to cause feelings of loss, disappointment and anxiety.

Trying to block and stop change from taking place may lead to more futile situations. Instead of resisting, allow it to unfold and try to understand the transformation and the reasons behind. Situations will not always happen the way we expect, and it is the norm. Embracing the circumstance can help deal with the change efficiently, make the necessary adjustments to embrace it and help move forward after the occurrence. Change may turn out to be our greatest tutor, but only if we allow ourselves to learn from it because the best lesson in life is through experience.