Hanna

What is difference? We have been told our whole lives that it is different around the world and that people are different. And though this class taught me how to work with our differences it also taught me that we are not as different as we think. Our differences shape us, but they do not define us. I learned in HR261 that we are more than our differences.

I am ashamed to say that walking into this class I was uneducated on multiculturalism in Canada. I knew almost nothing of its policies and how they have impacted certain communities. While I had heard stories, I had always assumed that change had occurred. I was shocked to find out that it had not. I was grateful to have conversations that opened my eyes to these failures. I was also grateful to hear where help could be given to improve.

This class made a safe space for education to happen, for stories to be told, and most importantly to be heard. I enjoyed so much of the discussions that we had, and the most important thing I can take from here is depicted in my image. We are in the same ocean, but we are not all in the same boat. While we all are human, we do not experience life in the same way, my understanding was amplified here, even if it was something I understood before.

Yet, despite being able to acknowledge this I am also able to share with you that I learned our differences did not change who we are. We may have different values, we may have different experiences, we may have different stories, but each of these does not stop us from being human with each other. Regardless of the boats we are in, we share one important thing in common, humanity. I want to say thank you to the international students that I have had the opportunity to learn from and listen to. Truly each of them challenged my thinking and gave me so many opportunities to grow. For this, I say thank you. A piece of Canadian culture, appreciation.

Hanna Bozzo, HR 261, Human Rights & Human Diversity, Brantford