An Unforgettable Speech Contest   by Lili 

       When I entered high school, there was a speech contest held by the school. The topic was National Day. My head teacher encouraged me to join the contest. I was excited and prepared a lot. I wrote a long script and thought carefully to improve my speech.
      The day finally came, and the contest began while I waited, nervous and excited for my turn. I wanted to give a wonderful speech without looking at the script. When my turn arrived, I stepped onto the platform. I saw many leaders, teachers, and students sitting there and watching me. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I told myself to calm down and start my speech.
      But after just one or two sentences, I was so nervous that I couldn’t remember what to say next. I had never been so nervous before. I had to take out my script and continue reading it emotionally. I thought I was doing terribly, but I told myself to keep going on.

       When I turned to the second page, the paper fell onto the ground. Everyone watched me bending down to pick it up. I was extremely embarrassed. I wanted to give up and run away; but I told myself I couldn’t do that. I had to keep going until the end.

       Finally, I finished my speech. The teachers and students broke into applause. Maybe they were just encouraging me. I wasn’t sure at that moment; I just wanted to run away. Surprisingly, I won second prize in the contest.

       Now I think I was really brave as a teenager.    Finishing the speech without giving up was the right thing. The reason I was so nervous was that I wanted to do my best. I believe everything will be better if we try our best. Even if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. Just try your best and never give up, and you will keep getting better.

My Story   by  Genie

I’ll share a personal story about how I started playing pickle-ball. I still remember the first day I went to the gym with my friend. We didn’t know anything about pickle-ball. The place was busy and everything was new. My friend and I were very nervous.

We went to the front court, and we told the people there that we were beginners. Fortunately, many people were willing to teach us how to play pickleball. We learned the basic rules and practiced hitting the ball. I already knew how to play badminton and tennis, so it was not too hard to learn. The paddle felt light in my hand, and the ball made a popping sound every time someone hit it.

Since we were beginners, we were usually placed on different teams. We practiced every week and slowly improved. We felt excited and more confident. Finally, after three months, we played on the same team for the first time. We were thrilled to be able to play on the same team. It was a lot of fun.

       From this experience, I learned that even beginners can improve if they keep practicing. Now, pickleball is one of my favourite [recreational][4] activities, and I enjoy playing with other people.

Dad, My Son Has Come Back Home  by Jonathan

       My daughter has a cat whose name is Nicks. Nicks is a male cat and he is nine years old. He is very smart, lively and lovely. My daughter often picks him up and says to him: ‘Call me Mom’ and Nicks always looks at my daughter's eyes and then turns his head away. Nicks often stands by the windows and looks out. When some birds or squirrels come close to the window, he is very excited and claws at the window with his front paws and he always moves his head toward to those small animals. We all know he wants to play with them. Nicks has lived in my house for four years and then moved to my daughter’s house when she married Harry. Fortunately, their house is only about five hundred meters away from ours, so my wife and I can often walk over to their house. Every time we go to my daughter’s home, Nicks comes  to me and rubs against my leg. Sometimes I pick him up and say to him like my daughter: ‘Call me grandpa’. I’m proud of our big family.

       But an incident almost broke our entire family's happiness. It was one midnight in November of last year, when I was awakened by a phone call from my daughter. She told me very sadly that Nicks was missing, and she asked me to see if he was in my yard. I was so surprised at that moment and comforted her, "don’t worry and we can find him certainly." But my daughter told me, she and Harry had already looked for Nicks for several blocks around their house and found nothing. After the phone call, my wife and I got up and went to both the front and back yard to see if Nicks was there, but still no sign of him.

      Harry, my son in law, came to my home early the next morning, and he told me that he found Nicks in my front yard for about ten minutes in the surveillance video. So he put some food and toys that Nicks loves in both the front and back yards of my house, and expected Nicks to come back soon.  My daughter, Harry, my wife and I looked for Nicks all day, even into that cold night. The doors of both homes  were left open with a gap the size of a fist in order to let Nicks return into our homes easily. Unfortunately, he didn’t come back, but he suddenly appeared on the monitor screen once again. All of us were disappointed and extremely sad. On the third day, we continued to look for Nicks but still didn’t find him.

      In the very early morning of the fourth day, I was awakened suddenly by a phone call from my daughter. She said very excitedly on the phone: ‘Dad, my son has come back home’. I was so delighted that I couldn’t sleep when I got that good news, 3:15 AM. Her son to her house from the  back door and was very tired and hungry. He finished all the  food in the food bowl very quickly.

            My Journey to a New Life  by  Andy               I decided to come to Canada because I didn't like my situation in Korea, where society pressures us to be the same and forces us to endure unfairness, which I believe affects the current very low birth rate. I was in a race without knowing myself, and I wanted to quit competing and go my own way. The big moment was leaving my comfortable life, but it started with a small moment when I talked to my manager. My family and I decided to take a parental leave for two years and find a way to spend valuable time away from a competitive life.

         The setting changed from a busy city to an open landscape, and I felt anxious but hopeful. From a career perspective, I thought English proficiency could be my weapon in the Korean job market, and adding an academic background in digital marketing would give me confidence. More importantly, we wanted to establish our own value of life. I realized I always pursue targets for others like companies and was greatly affected by others. In Canada, meeting open-minded people helped me realize that we are ready to build a life defined by our own rules.

       Now, I am preparing my own business here, and I think there are so many obstacles to tackle. I am a bit worried and stressed, but I hope to overcome it well. Through this journey, I learned that true success is not about winning a race against others, but comes from achieving a strong sense of self. Everyone follows the same path because of the fear of the unknown, but I have chosen to face it. Our family's journey is just beginning, and we are looking forward to who we will become in this new country.