Not perfect, but mine. I made my choice to stay and that's what makes me Canadian

Venkat Ravulaparthi · for CBC First Person

· Posted: Jun 30, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

This First Person file is the acquisition of Venkat Ravulaparthi, who lives successful Edmonton, and is part of a Canada Day series exploring what Canada means to radical crossed this country. For much accusation astir First Person stories, see the FAQ.

It was the archetypal susurration of dawn, crisp arsenic a glacier's enactment laced with pine. 

My friends and I stood connected a tiny constituent of stone precocious supra Alberta's Peyto Lake conscionable arsenic the prima began to spill implicit the ridge down us. The trees were awash successful the aureate yellows of autumn, the rocky slopes roseate supra them and the water itself was inactive sky-blue. 

We had been driving since 4 a.m. to drawback this moment, and arsenic I looked out, I caught my enactment arsenic a stillness settled wrong me.

Standing there, I knew. This is what I love. No substance however overmuch I hold oregon don't hold with different Canadians astir me, we ever person this: a onshore of unthinkable quality wherever I consciousness astatine home.

I grew up surviving successful 4 countries and 7 cities earlier the property of 15 and ever struggled to fig retired wherever location was. My begetter is simply a task technologist specializing successful designing monolithic infrastructure, specified arsenic bid lines and highways. As we moved from metropolis to metropolis and task to project, I near down a beingness half-built, friendships paused, routines undone, accents adopted and past forgotten. 

I became the kid who was bully astatine adapting — who would commencement a speech with a alien connected a hike, connected a plane, virtually anyplace and enactment successful touch. But I ne'er reached the constituent of feeling similar I belonged. 

We moved to Canada twice: archetypal successful 2009, erstwhile my dada became 1 of the designers for Edmonton's Anthony Henday-Stony Plain Road interchange and past successful 2015, erstwhile my dada got a occupation successful Toronto.

By this time, I was successful precocious school. To acceptable in, I pushed myself to go much social, much talkative, much outgoing. I started volunteering for schoolhouse events and mounting up tables with a South Indian taste group. Later, successful university, I ran for pupil council, handled communications for the section pupil governmental association, and had agelong conversations with friends from each backgrounds. 

That helped. I started to consciousness much rooted successful Canada — not due to the fact that I had each the answers but due to the fact that I yet had a involvement successful the conversation.

I besides started to find my moments of quiet, attaching a lens to my aged iPhone to observe quality done photography. I recovered stillness successful unexpected places — the patterns successful buildings, the colours of the sky, the expressions connected strangers' faces. That helped maine link to this place.

Then my household moved again, this clip to Calgary, erstwhile my dada signed connected arsenic 1 of the executives connected the Green Line LRT project. I joined them by driving crossed the country.

I had conscionable graduated from my undergraduate degree, truthful I followed, and this time, went each successful connected utilizing authorities arsenic my mode to get connected. I followed a section imaginable Alberta NDP campaigner connected Twitter and past started volunteering connected his information run by knocking connected doors and handing retired flyers. When helium mislaid his nomination, respective others encouraged maine to tally successful a riding that was inactive open.

My archetypal instinct was to accidental nary since I was successful my 20s and caller to the city. But I yearned to recognize Canada, not conscionable arsenic a place, but arsenic a assemblage I could assistance shape.

During that election, I knocked connected astir 20,000 doors successful 3 months successful the riding of Calgary-Lougheed. I talked with everyone I could — newcomers, longtime residents, students, parents. I listened to their stories and frustrations. For some, that included a increasing vexation with Alberta's spot successful this state and its attraction by Ottawa. Others saw the occupation otherwise — issues successful wellness attraction and education. Regardless, they shared a longing for a amended aboriginal and a committedness to this community. I heard them each and I wanted to beryllium portion of gathering thing better.

Then I mislaid the election, and it hurt. I felt the assistance I offered and the anticipation I saw were rejected.

The adjacent morning, I sat astatine my computer, staring astatine an email offering acceptance from the University of Melbourne's Law School. Part of maine wanted to permission Canada but thing other pulled maine back. I was connected with my team, volunteers, and the assemblage now; I couldn't tally away.

I continued my ineligible acquisition successful Edmonton instead, wherever I besides learned astir the mode Indigenous radical consciousness their transportation to this spot done a broad workout with the section Enoch Cree Nation.

As a non-Indigenous person, lasting there, physically moving crossed the country arsenic the blankets representing onshore were gradually taken away, I felt that past wrong maine for the archetypal time. 

And past I took that hike.

It came astatine a clip erstwhile my household was connected the determination again, this clip leaving maine down with my doubts. 

Standing connected that rock, looking retired implicit Peyto Lake arsenic the prima roseate and acold aerial filled my lungs, I saw the idiosyncratic I privation to become. Someone who keeps showing up, adjacent erstwhile the way is unclear. The sting of that predetermination loss, my household moving away, and the deaths of 2 radical who were adjacent to maine each near maine shaken.

In that stillness, I understood: belonging isn't astir winning oregon being chosen. It's astir choosing to stay. To care. To support trying.

That's what Canada is to me. Not perfect, but mine. A spot wherever I've laughed, lost, learned and begun again. A spot that's beauteous and speaks to my heart, and a state I privation to serve, recognize and assistance grow. No substance wherever I spell oregon what I do, I volition ever telephone Canada home.

Do you person a compelling idiosyncratic communicative that tin bring knowing oregon assistance others? We privation to perceive from you. Here's more info connected however to transportation to us.