After I graduated high school, I was off to Carleton University to study astrophysics. I had a dream that I would finish my undergrad, get a masters or PhD so I could work at SpaceX, then I was going to help them get to Mars. And though this was such a big dream and really interested me, once I got to university, it didn’t fit right with me. I wasn’t feeling confident, I was not in a good place mentally, and I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my entire life. I decided to drop out of university. It was hard—extremely hard. I felt like my friends and former teachers started judging me and thinking I was a failure. Whether they actually thought that or not, that was definitely a low point.

After I graduated high school, I was off to Carleton University to study astrophysics. I had a dream that I would finish my undergrad, get a masters or PhD so I could work at SpaceX, then I was going to help them get to Mars. And though this was such a big dream and really interested me, once I got to university, it didn’t fit right with me. I wasn’t feeling confident, I was not in a good place mentally, and I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my entire life. I decided to drop out of university. It was hard—extremely hard. I felt like my friends and former teachers started judging me and thinking I was a failure. Whether they actually thought that or not, that was definitely a low point.

Then, half a year later, a family friend of mine (who volunteers as a Life-Path Coach at Discover Year) came to talk to me after realizing that I was going through such a hard time. We talked for three or four hours, and she ended up introducing me to Discover Year. That’s where it all started for me.

At first, I was unsure of whether I wanted to take the program or not. I initially said no; I didn’t believe this was the right program for me. But ultimately, I decided to apply—and it was the best decision of my life.

It’s so hard to sum up my Discover Year. From learning the true meaning of curiosity; to travelling to Argentina, a place where I don’t know the language; to exploring my own home province with a new friend from Portugal and seeing it a whole different way. It’s incredible looking back at all the lessons I was able to learn, all the skills I was able to develop, all the networking opportunities I was given, and the many conversations I had with mentors in the program.

One of these conversations was with Nick Arsenault, an entrepreneur and business owner. Something that stood out to me during that conversation with Nick was that, when he was younger, Nick had told his university professor that he wanted to leave university, much like the decision I made. His teacher told him, “Don’t let school get in the way of your education.” That was such a powerful message to me, and it was one of the thousands of lessons I learned was able to get throughout the year.

I could go on and on about this program and the things I’ve gained from it. But what I am most grateful for, by far, is that in one year I have learned at least 10 years’ worth of life skills, which I wouldn’t have learned on my own at this stage of my life. For that, I am eternally thankful to everyone at Discover Year. It’s truly been an amazing year.