X Leads!

Yesterday evening, I returned to Ottawa after having spent a week on the gorgeous campus of St.FX University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. I was there taking part in a leadership program that I had been fortunate enough to be accepted to earlier in June, a collaboration between St.FX and Me to We fondly known to its participants as “XLeads”.

#XLeads

If you know me personally, or if you’ve read my blog before, then you’ll know that I’ve been involved with Me to We for many years now, but I can say in all honesty that the community I was a part of at St.FX was unlike any other I’ve ever experienced. After spending only 7 days with each other, this group of 76 young people – most of whom came into the program as strangers – became a family. We sang, danced, laughed, and cried together (there were a lot of feels), and the stories that were shared will stay with me forever, as I now consider them a part of my own. These stories were all so different, and all so beautiful. There were stories that broke my heart, of always feeling alone, and of being discriminated against, yet there were also stories that gave me an insane amount of hope – stories of youth led initiatives and actions that were truly changing the world. Whilst sharing these stories, one of our facilitators said something that I think really stuck with our group that week. What she said was that “there is beauty in brokenness”. That statement, for me, meant so much. Watching all these people whose stories maybe hadn’t always had happy endings in sight, take up a pen and start writing their own – creating beauty from their broken pieces – was so inspiring.

With our spectacular facilitators Tina and Amar!

Although the people were definitely the best part, the programming was aso amazing! The program was filled with such amazing workshops, and I learnt a lot about issues that I hadn’t yet had the chance to explore. We had workshops on world issues, sexualized violence, mental health, and also had the chance to learn about community and international development at the Coady institute – which is widely recognized for its work around the world. We spoke with university students and professors about what the university experience would look like at St.FX, and also about how we could continue on a path of leadership in our post secondary education. Since I learnt so much, I’m not going to try and fit it all into one post. Instead, I’m going to break it up into smaller pieces and post one every week or so for the next little while – concluding with the launch of my action plan after I attend Take Action Camp again in August! I can’t wait to share all that I’ve learnt with all of you!