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What Change Means
To Me
Independence "Never let anyone take your independence away."* I really believe in this saying from my childhood days. I lived in foster homes and group homes. I felt dependent because I had to obey rules which I never liked. At age fifteen, I decided to leave the group home. I was living and make my own life. I found work as a waitress in a restaurant in Stony Plain. I made enough money to pay my rent and for my food. From the moment I got my first paycheck I have been paying my way. *Kathy Russel My Life Ivan Nikiforuk I would like to introduce myself to the students at The Learning Centre. I am a male adult, from greater Edmonton, where I attended Ross Sheppard Composite High. I have one hundred credits, plus general skills. At eighteen, I owned my car (cash) and sold it! Through the years, I have developed a mental illness and must see a psychiatrist regularly. Now I am quite independent. Thank you! I was initially introduced to the Boyle Street Co-op, to assist as a volunteer and to develop a structure for the work world. I attended a work seminar at the Sport-Ex, where I approached a booth that would put me in school. Because I was already a volunteer, my case manager introduced me to The Learning Centre. Finally, it would lead me back into a programming environment to get back into work. I am educating myself and getting myself the career I want. Growing
Up I grew up in Iran. It was a very good country. It is very warm and sunny there. I went to school in Iran until grade six. In those days the Shah was still alive and there was freedom. |
I moved to
Edmonton to get out of Fort McMurray, to get myself educated, to start a
business. I got tired of working for other people. I figured it's time for me
to move on to other things. I worked in industry for twenty-five years, I
enjoyed the work. I like the heavy equipment operator's life, but you get tired
of it as the years go by. It's like any other thing you do in life.
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