I thought my childhood dreams were out of reach. Then I came to study in Canada

This First Person column is written by Chidinma Favour Anosike, who lives in Regina, and is part of a Canada Day series exploring what Canada means to people across this country. For more information about First Person stories, see the FAQ.

When I arrived in Canada in the spring of 2023, I was awestruck to see so many bare trees. I had just come from Nigeria where trees stayed green year-round due to the tropical climate. Bare trees were a rare sight, and only meant one thing — that the trees were dead.

"Why do they keep trees that don't bear leaves?" I asked the friend who picked me up from the airport.

He replied, smirking, "You're here now; why don't you find out yourself?"

A week later, I woke up to green leaves sprouting from the tree stems. Every day, they kept growing. I found the process especially fascinating and would take pictures of them every morning.

My journey to Canada as an international student has been equally eye-opening. This is a country where students like me can dream big. 

As a young adult in Nigeria, there seemed little chance for me to break through and have a good career. The economy was bad and corruption was rife, with people getting positions based on their connections rather than their skills or education.

My parents wanted better opportunities, improved living conditions and political security for me. They encouraged me to study abroad. Although I'd never left home in 18 years, I felt excited.

The day I departed, my mom called me to her room. She prayed for me, blessed me and hugged me tightly. She cried so much. I'd never seen that before, and I cried along.

When I thought about leaving to study in Canada, I was determined and said to myself, "Either I make it or make it." Failure was not an option.

During my layover at the airport in Toronto, I bonded with some other Nigerian students also heading to the University of Regina. All of us were full of hope and excited to begin this adventure.

Within three months of arriving and beginning my studies in business administration, it dawned on me that my new life wasn't as easy as I had fantasized. Some students lost the will to continue and left.

Being a student is taxing, but I believe it's triply taxing for international students who deal with isolation and who struggle to adapt to a new culture. 

The struggle between time zones and expensive flight prices to travel back during study breaks, especially in the -30°C winters, was torturous. That's when it hit me — I was really alone in this new country.