My defining moment

I think my defining moment is when I took a trip to Edmonton. My whole life I had been a recluse. rarely went outside, never saw friends, never went on trips. I had been completely dependent on my mother. And then I got the chance to take a trip to Edmonton for 3 weeks to visit family out there. It was the first time I had been anywhere outside of Ontario without my parents, and I was going alone. I was really nervous at first, since I was able to imagine every possible scenario of things going wrong. What if I couldn't find my gate at the airport? What if I missed my flight? What if I made it on the plane, but then it crashed and I died a horrible, painful death? And the family members I would be staying with, who were my uncle, aunt, and cousin, I had not seen for almost 10 years. I didn't even know who they were. But when I got there, they welcomed me with open arms. Everyday I had fun being with my aunt and uncle. The owned a store named Positive Print, so Monday to Friday I would go in and help them restock shelves or price new items. My cousin, who was 20 at the time, had her own house, so over the weekend I would go over there and her and I would talk and have fun and party and other things that we could find to do. The trip really taught me about being less attached to my parents, and taught me to be independent and confident enough to be with people I barely knew. Since that trip I had tried to reach out to other family members I haven't talked to in a while, and just to keep up with each other and every so often go out to see each other. It was an amazing trip, so much so that I payed for myself to again the next year to see them. That trip, I feel, was my defining moment.

My cousin, Andrea Meade, and myself