It was an early morning and no students seemed to be littering campus yet, and I was walking from one building to another. It was a cool morning, very crisp in the air. Something that I wish was around all the time but instead we only get to cherish during the autumn months. The air is never the same as it is during a great autumn day where its cold but the sun is promisingly breaking over the horizon, albeit a little later in the day but never the less bringing with it the promise of a perfectly warm day. So as I was walking from one building to the other I cut through Dalhousie's quad, and low and behold I was hit with another situation where I wish I carried my camera on me at all times. There it was, the red white and red, in the all so treasured autumn air, blowing just strong enough to give it that movie-like perfection. I hope that every once and a while people in this country are blessed with a sudden unexplainable feeling of patriotism when they see either the flag waving, or maybe its something else; kids playing street hockey, a room full of faces studying not realizing there is a ridiculous mosaic of different races gathered together in the room. Some of the blessings in our country are just so common that we don't take time to properly reflect on how great this land really is. I've been across the country and although I haven't headed north yet, I can guarantee each square metre of the provinces and territories have something great to offer in amidst all the negative we often observe in our societies.
So today, I call the people of this country to not simply remember that some old guy fought for your freedom in a world that was MUCH different then ours, but remember how far we've come since those times too. Truly appreciate the lives that were lost so that I can have the ability to study the effect of coral on our oceans, the ability to walk down the street and complain about my government not pulling its weight, the ability to vote in my country's leaders. Its a shame that Dal schedules assignments and mid-terms the day following Remembrance day, yet has us go home December 13th. I would've sacrificed another day or two or more for the ability to actually take Remembrance day off and join in in the celebration of my democracy and remembering that I've grown up in a culture that didn't have to fight in a world war or virtually any war for my freedom.
