The following is my tribute to Canada Day today, and my feelings and thoughts towards the nation of Canada and as to being a Canadian.

This summer I am going to Hong Kong to visit my family and relatives, and when I told people that, a few of them would automatically assume my "home" is there and I can tell when they would ask me a simple question such as, "when are you going home?" Even though such cases are exceptional and do not often occur, I don’t like it when certain people would make such assumptions simply because I am of Chinese decent and ethnicity. I understand why they would have such assumptions in their head while approaching to a person whose background and appearances may suggest that they might have come from elsewhere and I do not blame them for doing so, but I do think they should be more considerate before they actually say something like that to a person because you never know if that person is a Canadian and if they would be offended by that. By referring elsewhere as my "home", I feel as though I am thought of as a "visitor" and I, for one, do not like to that because Canada is the place I was born and raised in, and I've always considered it my home. (On an additional note, for those of you know me, I was away from the country for 6 years. During these 6 years, I was homesick and I realized how precious this home was, and I fought my way to reclaim my home. So this home is precious to me and I do whatever I can to stand by to it) Despite all that, I do not feel any less Canadian than any other average Canadian. In my opinion, anyone who genuinely considers Canada their home is a Canadian. And one's background cannot serve as a basis for determining whether someone is Canadian because under that concept, about 95% of the Canadian population wouldn’t be considered as Canadians and only those of Aboriginals/First Nations decent would be the "true and pure" Canadians. Other than those who are of Aboriginal/First Nation decent, everyone’s ancestors were originally from somewhere else, and they decided that they wanted to settle in a new place to start a new life, and call it their home. It’s the same story no matter what number of generations one’s family have settled here. Therefore, regardless of what backgrounds we have, what type of person we are, everyone can be called a Canadian as long as they genuinely consider Canada their home. In America, there is something known as the "American dream". In Canada, I believe that the Canadian dream is that anyone regardless of race, ethnic origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc., would be able to know and feel that they are welcomed to this place, and be able to call it their home if they choose to do so. And the fact that we have always placed priority in accomplishing that and how we have incorporated it into our society and our identity is why I believe this country is magnificent, why I am proud to be Canadian and why I love this country so much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA! Proud of you, and proud to be yours! :)