I started doing hard drugs when I was just 14 years old. Young, naïve and curious, I had been introduced to the wrong crowds. So, at 17, when I moved to the big city for college, I only did a month then dropped out. Rapidly, I got sucked into nightlife and drugs. To survive, I ended up doing questionable jobs, from prostitution to working as a stripper, and even dealing drugs. Of course, within just a few months I became addicted. By the age of 19, although I was making good money, something was terribly wrong.                   After two years onto that dark path, I eventually realized how my life had been spiraling down. I looked at myself and everything I had done, and admitted I was worth more. I planned ahead, booked myself a trip and left 3 months in Europe. Stepping away from reality made me understand where I’d gon...

Learning a foreign language is a challenge but learning it at an advanced age is also a great achievement. I still remember the first week of my first class, I felt like a little girl on her first day of class. I was nervous about not liking it or not being able to concentrate.   I had created a completely dramatic scenario in my head.               But after the first week, I felt relieved. I had been able to attend all my classes and had done all my homework in time.   But most importantly, I felt I had been reborn. But I haven’t done it on my own! Of course, we are responsible for our well-being, successes and failures, but the pleasant environment at UQAM’s École de langues had given me the opportunity to reach my achievements.   From day one, I met with Roisin, one of the amazing teachers who helped me understand my path. I have also had the privilege of having other great teachers thr...

Although from Tunisia, I am also a citizen of the world. I am convinced that the best way to acquire experiences and knowledge is by getting out of our comfort zone, to understand the functioning of systems different from ours, by going into new adventures. I believe that opening to people and the world is the true wealth; and the greatest assets that one can bring to their country (in my case Tunisia) are precisely openness, generosity and knowledge. I am also greatly convinced that those who have gone back to share what they have learned the hard way are, in a sense, those who will allow us to dream of a better future (provided they do not forget where they come from of course). It's easy to point out what's wrong but not so much to stay out and fight for it. Courageous are those who leave their country for a better future but reckless are those who remain at the front against everything. While it seems clear that Tunisia does not rely on its flourishing econ...