I come from a small town in Eastern Ontario. I was experienced in camping and canoeing and excited to get paid to work outside every day.  Coming from a small town or small community has its benefits, but throughout high school I felt continually weighed down by expectations.  Expected to win, to be the best, to perform; perhaps these weren’t laid upon me, but I felt that they were.  I was known for my athletic ability and swept the female athlete awards at my small high school.  I remember distinctly, as far back as grade 7, firmly making up my mind to walk the Terry Fox run, quietly rebelling against the people who expected me to run it and be the fastest in my grade.

I tell you this because being a Ranger gave me the freedom to be who I wanted to be.  Yes, I was good at sports, but I didn’t have to be known for it, and it didn’t have to define me.  At Rangers, nobody cared what you were like before, it only mattered what you did there.  Rangers was a fresh start, no baggage, no preconceived ideas.  Everyone had a clean slate and was equal.  In a time where I was search for my identity and figuring out what defines me, Rangers instilled confidence built on what was me, not on what other people thought of me.  I grew as a person, as an individual, and as a member of a team.  This growth could not have occurred in an environment where I went home every night, where I worked with people who already knew who I was, or maybe more importantly, what they thought I was.  The Ontario Ranger Program gave me the confidence of self-identification, and confidence to not be marginalized by labels and not to do it to other people.  I don’t know who I’d be today if I hadn’t experienced Rangers.