Today is December 18, 2021, and do you know what we are celebrating? Today is International Migrants Day (https://www.un.org/en/observances/migrants-day)!

We hear many things about migrants, and today I want to share what it means to be an immigrant for me and some of my guests.

What does it mean to be an immigrant? In my experience, being an immigrant means taking risks knowing that you cannot fail. It's taking a leap of faith aiming to land on your feet.

I look back at myself setting foot in Canada eight years ago, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for that person. Honestly, I don't know if the 43-year-old Oscar would do the things that the 35-year-old one did.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that we packed our lives into two suitcases and got rid of everything that didn't fit in there. Just to take a flight and arrive at a country where people didn't speak our language and thought Cinco de Mayo was our independence day.

But what I find harder to believe is that we did it all by ourselves, we didn't have family or friends in Canada, we didn't have a job or even interviews lined up, and no one was there to greet us when we stepped out from Pearson airport.

I want to say that the first few months were difficult, but I would be lying. The first "few years" sounds a bit more accurate. But even though they were challenging, I remember those times fondly. It is true when people say that "tough times don't define you, they refine you." I cannot think of a time in my life when I had grown more as a person than in my first years in Canada. I learned to value the things that matter and discard those that didn't. I understood that humility and compassion go a long way. And I realized that asking for help didn't mean I was helpless; it was just that I needed a hand to get back on my feet.

Very few moments in my life are as significant as those starting years, and I cherish them like nothing else. It's funny that sometimes I experience something that takes me back in time, and I'm going to share three of them with you:

The first one is the sound of an approaching streetcar. It may be because back in Mexico we didn't have them, so the sound was new to me, or, most likely, it's because riding the TTC back then was so expensive that I rather walk for an hour during the winter than spend three dollars on public transit.

The second thing that brings me back to that time is walking around Dundas Square. We used to go out and walk around that area on a weekend night. If it was cold, we may buy a coffee at Tim Horton's or Mcdonald's, not because we particularly liked their premium arabica beans, but because it was the only treat we could afford without spending part of the rent's money.

And the last one is the intro music from the TV show: The Office. If we didn't go out for a walk to Dundas Square, we used to stay home and watch that show while eating a frozen pizza topped with onions. I swear that pizza tasted better than any pizza I ever had. I know that's not true, and there's a reason I don't have them anymore, but it was the equivalent of fine dining at the time.

Harsh times make you evolve. I'm no longer that 35-year old that set foot in Canada hoping for the best and also expecting, naively, the best to happen.

I may be one of the few that never got homesick. Never missed Mexican food or wanted to go back to my home country. I'm not saying I didn't miss my family and friends. I'm just saying that it didn't matter how much I missed them, I had decided Toronto was my home, and even if things weren't going as planned, I'd do anything in my power to continue this journey.

It is funny how perspective changes after living here for eight years. I don't feel like a newcomer anymore, but I will always feel like an immigrant. I took that leap of faith, armed only with my knowledge, aptitude, and personality, and, after falling down many times, I was able to finally land on my feet.