In our lives, we all have to make numerous decisions. Every day we have to decide on something. Some of the decisions we make have little importance to our lives, but there are also such decisions, which may change them seriously. I often wonder, if a decision I make may have a great impact on me and people around me. I want to describe the decision, which was the turning point in my life.
On the 5th May 2002 I woke up a little bit nervous. The day was very sunny and warm. The spring was extremely beautiful that year. The flowers were blooming and the world seemed to be cheerful and fresh. As usually in spring time, I took a walk to school. I was walking all by myself admiring the nature. In front of the school I met a friend of mine- Alice. She seemed very nervous. She was surprised that I was so cheerful and relaxed. Alice told me that we were supposed to have a test in Chemistry, which was summing up two years of our learning. I was shocked. How could I forget about such an important event? I felt totally unprepared. I tried not to get too nervous. All in all I was quite good at chemistry. We joined the rest of our class and all the people were very stressed and they were learning from the books and notebooks. I took my book and tried to read something, but I had no time for it.
When we entered the classroom, the tests were already lying on the banks. The teacher asked us to leave our bags outside and take only pens and pencils with us. At first I felt very anxious, but when I read the test I felt sure that I would pass it. I wrote my test and even managed to help my friend Alice write hers. After an hour of writing we gave the tests back to our teacher. She checked them and it appeared that I had made no mistakes and scored 100% and Alice got 88%, which also was very good. After the rest of the lessons Alice said that she would like to invite me for coffee, because she was so grateful that I had helped her. We went to the café and had big ice creams and coffee. We talked for a long time and it was really very nice. I knew that my mother would be waiting for me with dinner, but I was so happy to spend time with Alice that I did not want to go home. We went for a walk in a park and talked and talked and talked.
I got home at 6 PM and had to explain my mom, why I was late. She seemed quite nervous. But she said that she is not angry with me and asked me to join her and my dad for supper. As we were eating my parents seemed anxious. I asked them, if something had happened to them, but they would not answer me. They asked me to clean the table after the meal and sit down with them for a moment. I was wondering, what they had to tell me. I tried to remind myself, if I had done something wrong or bad.
Finally we sat together and they announced the news. My dad got a new job and we were supposed to move to Canada for a couple of years. They said that we have to leave Poland in July. I did not know, what to say. I felt mad. I did not want to go anywhere. What about my school? What about my friends? What about Alice?
They told me to calm down. I was to enter the school for international students in Toronto. I could not believe, what I heard. I yelled at them that they do not respect me and my opinion and that they give no attention to what I think and what I want.
I called Alice to tell her, what happened. She started to cry. We both thought that it is a very bad idea, because we discovered we love each other. I could not sleep for the whole night. I was angry, sad, afraid and depressed. I did not want my life to change only because someone decided that my dad should work in Toronto…
In the morning I decided to talk to my dad again. I told him what I felt. I asked, if the decision cannot be changed. He explained me that he got an order and that he was not able to change it. He told me also that our life would not be very much different. I was supposed to go to regular school. As I had already known English, I should not have problems with the language. Moreover, one of my dad's friends was going to Toronto as well. I knew him and his family and he had a son, who was friend as well. We were going to be neighbors. I could keep in touch with my friends by phones and Internet. We were going to spend all holidays in Poland. He thought that it could be a great adventure for all of us. I understood him. But finally I told him about Alice. He was surprised to hear I had a girl friend. We talked about it for a long time. He said that I could invite her for summer to Canada and that we might write e-mails and talk on the Skype anytime we want. He said that if we are truly in love, we would be able to wait for each other.
I felt a little bit better after that talk. It was Saturday and I met Alice. We went for a walk and I told her about everything. She was very sad, but we agreed that we have to be brave. We decided to dedicate all free time that was left before my departure to each other. It was really wonderful. We spend almost two months walking, talking, going to the cinema or learning together. My parents invited Alice to Toronto in August.
The day before my departure Alice organized a party at her home. We invited all our friends from school and spend a very nice evening together. I was sure that I was going to miss them all much.
On 10th July me and my parents got up at 5 AM and went to the airport. My grandparents were waiting there for us. They were quite sad. We gave each other a sincere goodbye and went to the plane. The flight was very tiring. At first we flew to London and there we changed the planes. It was my first flight so I was a little bit frightened. But the plane was really fantastic. From London to Toronto we flew in Boeing 747. It is a very modern and big passenger plane. The stewardess was very nice and she kept on talking to me and bringing me hot chocolate and some candies. We also had a delicious dinner on the board. After 12 hours we arrived to Toronto. There were some people waiting for us at the airport. I was so shocked and tired at the same time that I did not even take a good look at the city. We were taken to our apartment in Toronto. It was really very nice. I had my own room, fully equipped with all I wanted to have there. There were three more rooms- one was a living room, the other-my parent's bedroom and one more- the room for my dad to work.
As I went to bed that night, I fell asleep for 16 hours. As I woke up, we went for a long walk along the city. It was very nice. I already found my favorite place there- a park by the lake. As soon as I could I wrote to Alice about Toronto. She was happy to hear that I liked the place.
For a month I was getting to know the city and especially the neighborhood. My dad's friend with his family already arrived so we spent much time together. I met there many Polish children, some of them where going to go to one class with me. But I missed Alice very much. Finally on 11th August she arrived. I was so happy to see her. Me and my parents organized many trips for her. We wanted to show her everything that there is interesting in the city and in its district. We spent wonderful 10 days there. Alice was really amazed by Canada. She liked the city very much. We spent much time in my favorite park, we visited several museums and all interesting places. We promised each other that we would be writing letters and keeping in touch till the next meeting. We were supposed to meet in December…
When Alice left, I felt very sad. I missed her very much. Moreover, I was worried about the school. How would it be like? Were the lessons going to be very difficult? Were the teachers going to be nice? Was I going to make some friends there?
Most of my worries appeared to be senseless. When the school started, I began to like it very much. The teachers were very good and nice to the students. They were demanding, but also very understanding. Actually, during the first year there I did not have to learn much, because I had already known most things from the school in Poland. I also met nice pupils there. If only Alice could be there…
It all happened two years before. Today I still live in Toronto. I am preparing to my final exams. Alice is still my girlfriend. We are going to go to the same university- either in Toronto or somewhere in the USA. I think that moving to Canada was really a good thing. I got to know another culture, I managed to learn French, I met many interesting people and visited wonderful places. Alice is still the most wonderful girl that I have ever met. So my life showed me, that the decision of some people to make my dad work in Canada influenced my life seriously, but all in all in a good way.
