Smithers, BC - where I grew up
smithers.
there is something absolutely special about a place that is surrounded by mountains, rivers, and wildlife. a place where you forget there is such a thing as a city, time, or hustle. hmm i am not too sure if a ‘lack of hustle’ is quite the right word. it’s kinda crazy how living in the big city (vancouver, bc) has brought a different version of the word hustle… like an on going buzz, a fear of getting stuck in traffic, operating money as if spending is the new saving, and hustling work, life, play, school, family, and so forth like a premium seat to a circus act.
hustle for me growing up in the small town of just under 1,000 people (telkwa, b.c) was not quite the same… there was never a shortage of work and no i don’t mean high status, market growing careers… i mean sweat and labour. from morning chores consisting of chopping firewood, falling trees, shovelling (and i mean like antarctic shovelling), gardens, inside chores, working on the vehicles, building new sheds; to before school treks to the end of the block where ‘night’ (6:00 am) lit the sky between waxing and weaning moons that entertained the bushes of, “i don’t know what the heck kinda animal at the time- animal”.
i grew up in a place that taught me something special. it taught me to work hard and play hard. it taught me to do what you are told because respect is a 7 letter word that filled my heart and mind with something SO entirely honouring. martial arts- a sport that was much of my growing-up since before i moved to smithers (telkwa) even — yes, i have lived other places… this may come up in a later blog post. life as we know it sometimes round-house kicks you in the side of the face and well martial arts helped me focus, train, respect, stay busy, and give a damn about being the best i possibly could in a sport that occupied my every being (let me know if you want to hear more about this). a sport that both took and created tears, pain, sleepless nights , and endless studying. it brought me to a place where i was the national champion in kickboxing and invited to fight in portugal for team canada. smithers brought me honour. as many people know, my dad is my best friend. we got to and still get to share this commonality which makes me tap gloves with smithers because being a daughter in my dads corner during his fights and visa-versa, couldn’t be appreciated enough.
i will not talk much about people in this smithers blog (maybe one day but not today). i refuse to bring up my past relationship- not because i am scared to bring up the past (obviously lol). but because of respect to those who new him.
smithers is a place that taught me that beauty comes with story, where a camping trip is always followed by a journal entry in our ‘adventure book’. because a trip wasn’t a trip without someone almost getting shot while hunting, their head blown off by a coke bottle launched into a fire pit, guzzling dish soap because one thought it was orange gatorade in a ‘gatorade’ bottle, experiencing frost bite, eating sand-wiches (literally), flipping quads, sinking snowmobiles, and getting the ‘biggest catch’- from elk to beetle.
i got asked the other day, what makes me different from all other millennials and why shouldn’t i be considered as the ‘rest’.
with little to no hesitation i replied by starting with, “i grew up in smithers…”
for those of you who don’t know. my dad and step mom have recently sold their place in smithers and bought in 108 mile ranch. as much as i am going to miss the nature, community, and house… i am SO excited that i am going to be closer to my family. we will be 5.5 hrs instead of 16 hrs or a $1,500 flight (round-trip). surrounded by forest, wildlife, and lakes… i can’t wait to make new memories and see whats going down in 108 mile ranch!