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Eighteen Years

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Clarissa

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Eighteen years ago tomorrow I came to this continent. I’m proud of how I spent these 18 years, of all the knowledge I gained, the hundreds of books I read, the psychological problems I solved, the life I built. 

The thing I kept wondering about eighteen years ago was what would happen if I had to confront real hardship. Would I deal with it with dignity? Or will I prove to be weak and pathetic? The real hardship didn’t take long to make an appearance, and I faced it with dignity that still makes me proud. 

As recent immigrants, we’d go for walks in residential areas, gawking at houses and lawns of the kind we’d never seen anywhere but on TV. It was incredible that actual, normal people could live like that. Their way of life was mystifying.

4 responses to “Eighteen Years”

  1. Shakti Avatar
    Shakti

    Bonne anniversaire, mon amie!
    I believe Canada Day was on the first? No matter.
    My father also came to this continent on July 4th, I believe. Such are milestones.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      Thank you! Yes, I came to Canada not on Canada Day but on American Independence Day. Not that I had any idea of either at the time. But it must have been a sign. 😃

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  2. Dreidel Avatar
    Dreidel

    Congratulations, Clarissa! Admiration is due to anyone who had the courage to escape from a humble background, whether from across the world, or merely across this huge nation, and to make the most of his/her alien situation in a new location. Obviously, the farther the distance and the more the language barrier, the harder the journey and the greater the effort required.

    But please remember that you are a VICTOR who took full advantage of her opportunities, NOT a broken survivor who managed to succeed despite being wounded and oppressed and beaten down by an evil society, or even worse, by a mythical fantasy like the patriarchy (or the even-worse super-villain kyriarchy).

    Self-righteous self-pity associated with success over phantoms that never existed except in the mind of the “survivor” seems to be a hallmark of many “heroic feminists” today. To your credit, you’ve never claimed that glory.

    Now you need to raise Klara to feel like a victor without the baggage of also being a victim!

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      Well-said. My greatest challenges always came from myself and not from anything outside of me. This continent has been nothing but hospitable.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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