Built by the North, Pulled to See the World
This opinion piece is a reflection on how growing up in Northern Ontario, and embracing Canadian experiences, helped shape this writer’s view while travelling the world. Written by Taylor McAllister.
Read on to hear how the natural environments that surround us make way for what the world has to offer - and how those experiences stay with us.
When I think about what shapes us into the people we are, I think about family, childhood, culture, and life experiences. Until recently, I never considered the true impact our natural environment has on shaping us.
Over the past year, my life has transformed in ways I truly never could have imagined. For those who have ever taken “the road less travelled”, you know it does not come without challenges. For me, it has meant giving voice to the adventurous soul buried inside of me resulting in passport stamps and travel stories, leaving each place just a little different than when I arrived.
My entire life I have loved to travel — and not just the type of love like “hey, this was so fun, let’s do it again next year”. I always felt truly myself when a new adventure was in front of me. When I am exploring a new place, there is a part of me that feels alive, curious, present. As a true anxious girly (iykyk), it might be the only time my brain actually feels quiet. I can’t recall a time in my life where I wasn’t talking about, or dreaming about, travelling.
As the story goes for so many of us, as my life moved along, responsibilities started to pile up, and travel became a “nice to have” rather than a need.
But for me, someone who felt like travel and adventure were tied to who I was in a sense, seeing travel this way felt like I was making a part of me just a “nice to have”.
As I started to make some big shifts in my life to give more voice and space to the adventurous soul that really dictates my internal world, I am grateful to be in this space now where adventure and travel have become more of a constant for me. But as I reflect on the past few years and what got me here, I can’t help but think of my life in Northern Ontario and my travels throughout Canada. Funny, isn’t it? How sometimes we have to travel faraway to start reflecting about home?
There is some irony in this, because for those who know me, I have spent a lot of the last few years trying to run away from that small Northern town that built me, feeling like there is no way I could ever feel real connection there. I admit I have not always appreciated my experience of growing up in Northern Ontario and I never really envisioned my travel plans to happen in the confines of the Canadian borders. And yet, my first big ‘travel’ trip (and one of my favourites) was actually in Canada.
Because while I dreamed of seeing the world, there was also this hidden sense of gratitude that I couldn’t quite ignore, pulling me to see the beauty and experience the adventure that my own home country had to offer. Not to mention, travelling through Canada had me feeling safe, comfortable and at home. Looking back and thinking about that scared twenty-something year old who wanted to pursue her dreams but didn’t yet know how, I am deeply grateful for that experience. While I thought travelling through Canada would calm some adventurous-seeking part of me like my internal world could be settled with a checklist, it did quite the opposite.
I remember every new place I got to see ignited something with me, a ‘wow factor’ response internally, and it kept making me realize that I never wanted to it to stop. I had so much more to experience. The travel bug began.
The memories of my travels through Canada feel like an old film roll replaying through my mind – caribou standing across the road as I stepped outside my hotel in Jasper with ice-capped mountains as a backdrop to the cool morning air; slowly gliding through Hall of the Gods on the turquoise blue water of Maligne Lake; realizing just how big a grizzly bear is as I witnessed a momma and her cubs crossing the road in Banff; realizing just how small I am as I sat on the mountain peak of the Hermit trail at Rogers Pass in Revelstoke; having tea with friends in the brisk mountain air at the tea house atop Lake Louise; watching humpback whales splash through the Pacific Ocean. Every single moment is permanently imprinted in my mind.
When I think about travel, it is the natural beauty that surrounds it that draws me in — the mountains, the beaches, the trails, the rainforests, the waterfalls, and of course – the animals. This is what makes me feel connected to a place - because this is where adventure happens, where you truly get to experience the unknown. To me, it is not about the fancy hotels, the lively cities, or even the food – although these are certainly added bonuses.
The thing about living in Northern Ontario is that if you venture outside your home at all, adventure will happen naturally. You don’t have to look too hard. Ten minutes in any direction, and you are leaving the world behind; hiking through a new trail or running along the sandy waterfront of Lake Superior. Many of us felt as though places like the small town I grew up in were limited in things to do, when really, you just had to listen to the call to go outside, and accept the invitation to connect with the adventure and beauty surrounding you.
Growing up, my summers were filled with swimming at the beach all day and watching sunsets at Batchewana Bay. School field trips consisted of spending the day hiking through trails or skiing down the slopes of Searchmont. Many years of my life — and still to this day — we packed up our bags to head to Echo Lake, usually filling the day with jet skiing, boating, swimming, and watching my dogs jump off the dock. My adult years have been spent taking my dogs on hiking adventures anywhere that falls between Thessalon and Wawa. When I look at these memories and how these are some of the most cherished days of my life, it is no wonder that I have constantly felt pulled toward exploring this beautiful world. My experiences of what “could be” have been so rich since childhood.
Even though that small little Northern Ontario town doesn’t feel like it fits me anymore, although I have since had the privilege of travelling in Canada and beyond, until recently, I never realized just how much these Canadian experiences built me.
When I think back to this past year of trying to figure out who I was and who I wanted to be, I realize I have actually just been giving voice to who I have always been.
The places we grow up in, they leave marks on us. Even across the world, there is something about reconnecting with that adventure loving soul that was fueled by a childhood living in the North. It is no wonder that wherever I go, outdoor adventure makes me feel the most present, the most at home.
To the place and the country that built me – thank you for showing me the beauty life has to offer. I will probably spend the rest of my life chasing more.
