Packing up and moving on

This is it Jasper – my last Last Word. My year here is up and I’m heading back to Southern Ontario, where I hail from.

By the time this paper hits the newsstand, I’ll be back in St. Catharines, a city of 130,000 about 20 km north of Niagara Falls, on Lake Ontario.

Like many people who come to Jasper, I never intended to stay. But unlike most residents, I haven’t planted myself here. I didn’t get my mother to ship the rest of my stuff out to me, I didn’t switch over to an Alberta health card and I won’t renew my post office box when it expires.

Jasper’s been great, and though leaving may suggest I’ve changed my mind about coming here, that’s not the case. Though the town may not be right for me, I’ve learned a lot over the past year. To me, any experience I can learn from is one worth having.

For one, starting off my journalism career in a town of 5,000 provided real insight into how town politics works, insight applicable to larger towns and cities.

I learned about wild animals, volunteer firefighters (and one in particular) and prescribed forest fires. I saw the stars more brightly than I’ve ever seen them, aside from on a school trip to the planetarium in Toronto.

Living in Alberta, I’ve been more exposed to and become more interested in Aboriginal issues, in particular, the depletion of the environment and the Athabasca River which residents of Fort Chipewyan believe is poisoning their people.

The first time I came to Jasper was when I was working in Lake Louise two summers ago and took every chance to get out of town and stay in fancy hotels for cheap. I thought Jasper was great, so when I graduated from college last year and the Fitzhugh hired me, I was elated.

“The elk there, they roam the streets!” I told my friends and family, who were less than enthused.

My hometown, St. Catharines, isn’t all that great. We don’t have mountains, our lake is polluted, and we’re lucky to see a squirrel in a given day.

On the other hand, Jasper’s scenery is breathtaking, but it will never take the place of a mother, a father, two brothers, a sister-in-law, a nephew, a grandmother, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends – some I’ve known most of my life.

I love to travel, experience new things and meet new people, but all the while I feel there’s a world of stuff I’m missing out on back home. It’s only appropriate that I stop in once in a while and check that everyone’s doing OK without me. 

So thanks Jasper for a great year. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.