Perseverance Pecha Kucha

Slide One:
- “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever
you do, you have to keep moving forward”, Martin Luther King Jr. I want you all to think back to
a difficult time in your life, now ask yourself if you overcame that obstacle. I know for a fact that
everyone here has gone through challenges in their lives, no matter how big or small it may be.

Slide Two:
- Everyone here has persevered through these tough times which has ultimately shaped you into
the person you are today. I will be sharing personal stories involving perseverance within my life
and how it has allowed me to become someone I am truly proud of.

Slide Three:
- In 1969, my grandma’s family made the difficult decision to move from the island of Azores,
Portugal to Toronto, Canada. Only her parents and two younger brothers would take part in the
journey, my grandma was 19 years old at the time. Their family had been split up for many years
as her older brother and sister had moved to Brazil and her oldest sister moved to Toronto by
herself in 1960. My grandma mentioned that those nine years were difficult for her family as the
divide was taking a toll on everyone.

Slide Four:
- With very little money and knowing no english my grandma’s family left everything behind in
Portugal to begin their new lives here in Canada. My grandma’s parents knew this was a huge
risk, but they took the leap of faith to give their children the best opportunity possible. They
moved into my grandma’s older sister’s two bedroom house in Toronto. There were six of them
living there at the time.

Slide Five:
 - The family knew that to provide for a household of six people, they needed to get jobs. This was
an extremely difficult task as they hardly knew how to speak English. However, this did not stop
my grandma from preserving. She landed a job as a travelling household maid. She would work
upwards of 14 hours a day, but she did what she needed to do to make ends meet and put food
on the table.

Slide Six:
- As an immigrant and woman, the workplace was a harsh environment for my grandma. She
explained to me that the homeowners in which she worked for were often rude and made racist
and sexist remarks towards her. My grandma was often looked down upon and treated like a
servant. Nevertheless, she worked tirelessly and overcame this terrible obstacle in her life.

Slide Seven:
- Three tough years later, in 1972, my grandma met my grandfather who also newly moved to
Toronto from Portugal. Both of them worked very hard and earned enough money to pay for a
small wedding and house to start their family. They had my mom in 1975 and moved to
Kitchener in 1983, my mom was seven at the time. At this point in their lives, they were
beginning to become comfortable in Canada as they had a steady income. They raised my mom
in that home and they are still happily living there.

Slide Eight:
- Moving to a new country with nothing and having to adapt to a new culture and lifestyle is
something that I have never experienced but so many people have, such as my grandparents.
My grandma worked hard her whole life to establish herself in Canadian society and she earned
everything that she now has. She faced challenges that many of us will never understand, and
this was just a snippet of her remarkable journey.

Slide Nine:
 - My grandma truly is my best friend and the strongest person I know. She climbed mountains
and swam across oceans to become the person she is today. She knew that whatever life threw
at her she would be able to overcome the obstacles. My grandma is now 71 years old but doesn’t
act an age over 30. She is a light in everyone’s lives and despite her difficult past, she was able
to persevere and become a successful and powerful woman, and someone I am so proud to call
my Avo.

Slide Ten:
- I am now going to transition into a more personal story of mine that some of you may be able to
relate to. A couple of years ago, I was sitting in my room scrolling through my phone when
suddenly I started to feel as though I was slowly losing the ability to breathe. I began to shake
and I felt paralyzed and trapped in my own head. I stumbled to my parent's room trying to
explain what was happening but the words weren’t coming out, I had no idea what was
happening to me, I’ve never experienced this.

Slide Eleven:
- My parents were obviously concerned about my state and decided to take me to the hospital. I
remember the ride there felt like forever, and I just could not catch my breath, I felt like I just ran
a marathon. My parents thought I might have been experiencing an asthma attack, however,
we were uncertain because as far I know I don't have asthma. Once I got there the doctors ran a
few tests and I felt as though there was something wrong with my lung capacity, so they
referred me to another doctor to run more tests.

Slide Twelve:
- I continued to have these violent outbursts and the doctors could not pinpoint what was going
on. Finally, the respirologist asked me if my family has a history of anxiety. At that moment
everything made sense. Both my grandma and mom struggle with anxiety, however, they don’t
experience such extreme panic attacks. I explained that I have also been an anxious person but
only until recently have these attacks begun to occur.

Slide Thirteen:
 - The doctors explained that one’s anxiety tends to heighten as you get older, hence why I only
started to have these panic attacks recently. I also learned that anxiety can be categorized in
many different ways. Personally, I tend to experience the most extreme anxiety in situations
where I am scared of failure or disappointment. I have always put a lot of pressure on myself to
be “perfect” and when something happens that can hurt that desire I have, I become very
anxious. This can be as simple as getting a bad grade on an important test, disappointing a
loved one, or the fear rejection and judgment.

Slide Fourteen:
- After being diagnosed with anxiety it was suggested that I go seek therapy to help cope and
manage these difficult emotions and physical defences. If I’m being honest, at first I did not
want to go talk to a therapist, I felt that it would make me weak and people would judge me if
they found out. However, I knew that I needed to reach out for help and overcome this internal
battle, and thank god I did.

Slide Fifteen:
- I learned so much from having these sessions with my therapist. I was able to understand my
anxiety and develop coping mechanisms to help manage these intrusive thoughts and feelings.
At first I was scared to open up to someone but it was ultimately what allowed me to preserve
and overcome this personal battle that I am fighting. I no longer see my therapist, however, if
things were to start to spiral out of control again, she would be the first person I would reach out
to.

Slide Sixteen:
- Anxiety is a battle I will always be fighting, however, I have the upper hand. I know that I can
overcome these challenges and not let my anxiety define who I am. I have never spoken about
my anxiety publicly, so today’s a first. What I want everyone to take away from this experience
of mine is that your mental health is important and never to be ashamed to reach out for help
because some battles aren’t also meant to be fought alone. I was able to persevere and not let
my anxiety win and you can do the same.
Slide Seventeen:
 - The last story I will be telling will be short and sweet but yet another example of how I was able
to overcome a challenge in my life. A little over a year ago I was in a very bad place. I had gone
through a lot all at once and I felt as though I was drowning and every time I was close to
making it to the surface something would happen that would make me sink back to the bottom.

Slide Eighteen:
- All the challenges I was faced with were completely my own mind trying to break me down. I
pushed everyone I loved away and lost myself for months just waiting for everything to
magically get better. If you want to persevere, you have to work hard, happiness doesn't always
come easy, stuff happens. After months I understood that, but of course with a little help.

Slide Nineteen:
- I opened up to my family and friends about how I was feeling and I allowed them to support me
and help me get out of my own head. I went out more with my friends and when I was out I
didn't think twice about my past feelings. After months, I finally felt like myself again. I share this
short story because I believe that there are many of us in this room that have at some point felt
the same way, and I think the best way to get through to people is attempting to connect
through similar experiences. What I learned from everything that happened is that friends truly
are so important.

Slide Twenty:
- As humans, we faced challenges every day, and we overcome those challenges. My grandma
was able to persevere and make it in this country because of her hard work and determination. I
was able to persevere through my anxiety by reaching out for help. Finally, I was able to
persevere through a difficult time in my life because of the people I surrounded myself with. Life
can be difficult and the ability to persevere can be even more challenging, but never give up
because there's always a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how long the journey through
the tunnel may be. Thank you.