Suzuki Hirohara from Japan

My three years of high school in Canada were a life-changing experience for me. I was able to make meaningful use of the new life and new daily routine that I could not experience in Japan during my three years, and my future options for the next step became much wider than before. I chose Abbotsford, a town located in British Columbia, Canada, as my study destination. It is a little bit far from urban areas such as Vancouver, but for me, who had been living in a Japanese city, Abbotsford was a very peaceful place to live and study. I am very proud of my three years in Abbotsford. I was nervous from the very first year, but as the days went by, I realized that my nervousness was gone and I was able to try new things and make new friends from different backgrounds. I am very proud of my three years in Canada, and of course, my new life in Canada is different from my life in Japan. The biggest difference is the language. It is a matter of course, but I think this is still the area where I worked the hardest when I first came to study in Canada. I had to think about what I was going to say before I said it out loud. I often stressed myself out from this extra step in conversations. As soon as I came to Canada, I was able to know what I needed to improve and what I needed to learn from now on, so I was able to use my precious time in Canada in a meaningful way and I feel that I have grown a lot compared to myself 3 years ago. I have grown up to the point where I can talk with my host family comfortably and can tell them in detail what I really want to say. I am very proud of myself for my growth and improvement in just being able to speak my mind. I can now proudly say that my host family is my "real family", which is my new home, a new living place that is different from my home in Japan. I have very little time left to live as an exchange student, but there is one thing I can say. The time I spent with my host family will be irreplaceable and precious to me even after I return to Japan after my study abroad. Furthermore, it is highly probable that my next step after high school graduation will be to spend time in Canada, so there will be more opportunity to see them again. I know they may still have some concerns to me, but I hope they will look forward to my success in college. In addition, there were many things that I felt changed after spending three years living abroad. The point where I felt I changed the most throughout my three years abroad was in my "way of thinking". It is very simple, but this is the point in which I feel I have changed the most. The reason why I feel my way of thinking has changed is because of my future goals. There is a big difference between the conventional way of thinking about work and common sense in Japan and the new "way of thinking" in Canada. It is no exaggeration to say that my future options have greatly expanded from this way of thinking. I remember that I was very happy to have an option to live abroad with a flexible way of thinking without sticking to live in Japan. I also feel that I was able to improve my communication skills and learn about the history and lifestyle of different cultures, and I feel that I was able to live a very meaningful life. I am very thankful to my host family for treating me like a real son, sometimes scolding me, sometimes sharing my sorrows, and sometimes helping me with various things. I have to say thank you to all the people who helped me through this study abroad experience. I would like to thank my parents in Japan, my host family who took care of me like a real son for 3 years, my teachers who answered all my questions in class, and my friends who have made my life in Canada, more enjoyable. Now it is my turn to return a favor to everyone. I would like to make use of what I have experienced so far in the future and say "Thank you!" to those who have helped me over this international program. 

Activities

Posting biogs about studying abroad (2020 March 29 to 2021 March 29th) I was writing a blog for Japanese people who are interested in studying abroad in Canada, and some information about COVID-19 cases compared to Canada and Japan. I was writing the blog for a year and posting at least one post every day, which takes me to write 2-4 hours every post. - Helped with my friend's fashion brand (2021 April 24 - Sept 10 more than 40 hrs) What I did, was come up with some design ideas to put on the clothes, and draw them. I also helped photo shoot to post it on their online shopping home page. This activity was not paid for, so it was similar to volunteering, but still, I learned new things. - Made my own brand (2020 Dec 30 ongoing event) When the isolation started because of pandemics, I started to sell things that I designed. I was focusing on selling clothes, but I also designed for other things, such as a portable battery charger, pouch, key chain, and more. As a result, I sold approximately $500 within 3 months.

Post-Secondary Plans

I have applied to UBC, SFU, and Douglas College. I will make the fullest use of the English skills I have acquired over the past three years, as well as the many different ways of thinking that Canada as a multicultural country has to offer, and I will do my best to work internationally in the future!