My name is Jordyn, I am 23 years old and I am one month away from starting my career as a Registered Nurse, this is #MyCanada.
During my time in university I worked part time along with my studies so that I could save enough money to fuel my passion of backpacking around the world. I recently came back from a 2 month tour of Eastern Europe, finishing off in the Middle East. In the years prior I have had the privilege of backpacking South East Asia, attending a yoga teacher training in Nicaragua, and camping through the South of Europe. I have met so many kind strangers from all over the world who have gone out of their way to assist me and have shown me that the world is not such a scary place. I have learned that the best way to see breathtaking sights and take in the culture is to completely immerse yourself in the experience, whether you are alone or with a friend. Sleeping on airport floors in Hong Kong, eating $1 pad thai from a street vendor, and lugging a backpack through the desert heat from the borders of Jordan to Israel doesn’t always feel glamorous. However, these are the moments where you learn the most about yourself.
After visiting over 30 countries, I have inspired a lot of my close friends, family, and even strangers to go out of their comfort zone and travel to other countries. I have used social media as an outlet to share my experience and the beautiful things I have seen, in order to inspire others to make time for travel in their lives. So often you hear people say "I wish" or "one day I will..." and I think it is so important to do the work and manifest the things that you want NOW.
Although I have a strong passion for travel, I really take pride in my role as a nurse and a caregiver of others. I am proud to say that during my university career I have been able to put my own needs aside while caring in various settings including: emergency, the older adult community, newborn babies and maternity, mental health, and providing sexual education courses to low income teenagers.
"I think it is so important to do the work and manifest the things that you want NOW."
I have had the opportunity to work in very diverse communities and care for patients who are immigrants who have recently started calling Canada their home. This has been such a privilege for me to be exposed to new cultures as well as meet patients who are from countries that I have traveled to before.
As I continue on my quest to travel the world, I have learned that the travel bug is not something that ever dies down. My desire to see different areas of the world continues to grow and I can’t wait to take nursing internationally. This is my goal because I want to care for people all over the world and make people healthier on a global scale.
Whenever I travel and people ask where I am from I am so honoured to be able to say that Canada is my home. The reaction I get from other backpackers is always so positive when they hear I am Canadian. I find it funny that the more I leave my country to see other places, the more I appreciate my roots. When I was too young to travel alone, I spent my summers in Muskoka working at a canoe tripping camp. This was an experience of a lifetime because I was given the opportunity to be exposed to Canada's natural beauty. Living in the forest with no technology and only the stars above your head is an incredible experience that I am so blessed to have been apart of. These memories are what I think of when I think of home.
Headshot by @beccaveyphotography
Illustration by @ymonett