Finding Myself, Finding My Identity

My name is Tonia. I was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. Growing up my family and I would always travel to sunny Caribbean destinations. I always had a happy and strong family. I’m sure it wasn’t always easy for my parents to provide for that at that time but they always found time to take my brother and I on yearly trips to a sunny destination. As children, we felt this was just normal. Not realizing that not every family had the opportunity growing up to travel. I’m sure it was a lot of hard work and saving to be able to do this for our family.

So I do not take lightly that I had this opportunity growing up. My parents also would take personal trips together at least once a year. We also grew up renting cottages on the lake in the Kawartha Lakes area. No matter the financial hardships we as children and teenagers had no idea if there were any financial hardships.

As I got older I realized that these trips that we went on were not always cheap. The sacrifices that our parents will go through must have been difficult but they provided an amazing life for my brother and I.

I remember as a small child knowing that we were going to be traveling on an airplane, the excitement and the thrill of being able to do that at such a young age. The youngest age that I can remember taking a family vacation or a vacation was when I was four or…