This is no shade to any other place I have lived or worked, but when they say Toronto is the most diverse city in the world…there are no lies told. It is a legitimate melting pot of cultural diversity in a way I have never experienced. The food. The people. The languages spoken. The festivals. The holidays celebrated. Everyday is a new opportunity to learn and be immersed in the beauty of differences.
Let me give you some examples:
I made an optometrist appointment blindly (yep that was a mom joke)…ALL people of color.
My Masseuse – Black woman.
My therapist – Black woman (by design). But the simple fact that I had that option, when before I could only access ONE in the entire state of XXXXXX – speaks volumes.
I walk into the facility/arena everyday, and we look like the United Nations.
God continues to show me why I am in the right place. It is certainly not perfect and definitely does not come without it’s challenges but I am telling you, REPRESENTATION MATTERS. My neighbors are White, Black, Asian, and Indian – I mean this in the most literal way…absolutely no exaggeration. My kid can see himself in his friends and appreciate the diversity in them as well. This warms my heart. It makes me smile big. It is beyond important for both of my boys to see visual representation of the infinite possibilities that exist of what they can (and will) one day be. The saying goes, “it’s hard to be what you can’t see.” Toronto provides cultural immersion and acceptance, while modeling the way for what true inclusion feels like. The viewpoint of diversity is only as great as the voices and experiences that have a shared seat at the table.
Sometimes we don’t know what we need until we have it…and this is something I desperately needed. After the last 2 years of chaos, stress, and social unrest, I needed this more than I ever knew. Something had been missing, and this was it. Tdot…thanks for choosing us to do this life.
-Dr. LCJ