Born and raised in Montreal, I grew up loving diversity - diverse environments, cultures, and lifestyles. Looking back, my childhood was a fairytale: I lived in a wonderful neighborhood, where Westmount and Little Burgundy met, with many parks to play in, lane ways to bike through, and children of all ages to make-believe with.
Something happened in high school. Life wasn't so peachy anymore. I didn't understand why I was learning about all kinds of abstract concepts in school - I didn't believe they were useful or at all related to reality. I was really concerned about the meaning of life. I wanted to know why I existed at all. At the time, I didn't feel as though I could make any meaningful contribution. I didn't know what was worth contributing to.
When I was 17 years old, my mother took me on a trip to Costa Rica. It was amazing. We went with Great Adventure People on their Costa Rica Quest. We traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific by van, bus, tractor, boat, and horseback. We swam under waterfalls, walked along volcanic beaches, dipped in natural springs, and zip-lined through a cloud forest. Most important, I learned A LOT. During our tours through the forest, I learned about the wonders of nature (landforms architectured by coastal erosion and makeshift leaf tents made by bats to shelter themselves from the rain), I learned about the services of nature (a "traveler's palm" that acts as both a compass and water source, and an "elastic tree" with peels of elastic bark), and I learned about the beautiful symbiosis of nature (everything's cyclical, everything has a role, and everything is perfectly orchestrated). This was a life-changing experience for me. That trip gave me a goal, provided me with direction: to discover, respect, and protect the beautiful environment that sustains us.
Now, over ten years later, I am here at Concordia University, studying Human Environment, and loving my direction. I feel like I can make a contribution to the world this way. This brings me peace.
Robyn Rees is an honours student in the Human Environment program at Concordia University, and has completed a minor in Professional Writing.
She is imperfect.
Something happened in high school. Life wasn't so peachy anymore. I didn't understand why I was learning about all kinds of abstract concepts in school - I didn't believe they were useful or at all related to reality. I was really concerned about the meaning of life. I wanted to know why I existed at all. At the time, I didn't feel as though I could make any meaningful contribution. I didn't know what was worth contributing to.
When I was 17 years old, my mother took me on a trip to Costa Rica. It was amazing. We went with Great Adventure People on their Costa Rica Quest. We traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific by van, bus, tractor, boat, and horseback. We swam under waterfalls, walked along volcanic beaches, dipped in natural springs, and zip-lined through a cloud forest. Most important, I learned A LOT. During our tours through the forest, I learned about the wonders of nature (landforms architectured by coastal erosion and makeshift leaf tents made by bats to shelter themselves from the rain), I learned about the services of nature (a "traveler's palm" that acts as both a compass and water source, and an "elastic tree" with peels of elastic bark), and I learned about the beautiful symbiosis of nature (everything's cyclical, everything has a role, and everything is perfectly orchestrated). This was a life-changing experience for me. That trip gave me a goal, provided me with direction: to discover, respect, and protect the beautiful environment that sustains us.
Now, over ten years later, I am here at Concordia University, studying Human Environment, and loving my direction. I feel like I can make a contribution to the world this way. This brings me peace.
Robyn Rees is an honours student in the Human Environment program at Concordia University, and has completed a minor in Professional Writing.
She is imperfect.
