Today I became an official Canadian Citizen!!!

I say official, because in my heart I’ve been Canadian since I first set foot on Canadian soil in 2003. It took 10 years to take the oath, and today is one of the proudest moments in my life.

This has been an amazing day.

I was one of 70 people sworn in as Citizens today from 30 countries from around the world.

The ceremony was beautiful, the words spoken heartfelt. When it was my turn to say my name, I choked up. When we all took the oath together in that room (in French and English) I shed tears. The feeling in the room was enormous, the emotion vibrating through us all was palpable.

10 years ago when I left Australia, my goal was to become Canadian. That was my goal when I set out with a working holiday visa in hand, and today it was a goal I reached.

Last week, I took a moment to look back at the last 10 years and realize that this was something – perhaps the first tangible thing in my life – that I really wanted, set on the path, followed it tenaciously, and achieved. What an amazing feeling to know that I can follow something that is true to my heart for 10 years without giving up.

I feel as though I could now achieve anything!

10 years is a long time to want something, a long time to work toward something that you desire, a long time to wait…and here we are, it paid off.

My feeling today is one of incredible pride that I never gave up, even when the mountains of paperwork and hoops and blips on the road appeared. Even when the path switched and changed and did whole loop-de-loops, my desire stayed clear.

It’s been a magical ride, and I have had the most amazing experiences of my life here. I’ve felt love, real deep and passionate love here, I started writing here, I climbed mountains here (physically and metaphorically) – my heart belongs to Canada and now Canada is my home for life (if I choose it).

There are so many amazing people that have contributed to my success, so many people that helped me stay strong, helped me keep the faith, journeyed with me, loved, supported, encouraged, and laughed with me along the way. Without whom I may have given up.

I feel so incredibly blessed that I have been fortunate enough to attract an amazing family of friends along the way. I wish I could thank them all individually, instead I send much love and heartfelt gratitude your way tonight and hope that each one of you feels a joyful warmth from it – even if only for a moment.

I am Canadian!

Warm smiles and Love,

Ali Jayne 🙂