Hello! My name is Lydia Raddon.
Sometimes I joke that being bilingual doesn’t mean you can speak two languages; it just means your language difficulties are multiplied by two! Maybe that isn’t the case for you. But if you think being bilingual is hard (no matter what languages you speak), you’re not alone!
Last year, I took part in KAPSUR (opens in new tab), a youth documentary series on TFO that explores the lives of young Francophones in different rural areas of Canada.
I live with my parents and my sisters on a small farm in Blind River. In this small village in northern Ontario, I grew up in a community made up of Anglophones and Francophones.
My parents are Anglophones. At home, we speak English only. But since kindergarten, I’ve been going to French schools. So all of my teachers and classmates have been Francophones.
Outside of school, I grew up close to the Francophone community. I’ve been a biathlete and cross-country skier for many years, and my coaches are Francophones.
As I grew up, I became more involved in my Francophone community. I started writing articles for Le Voyageur, a local newspaper, through their youth program, Tapage. I was also appointed student councillor on my school board. But I was still left wondering, “Have I integrated well?” My French wasn’t as good as my English, and I was a little ashamed of that.
Much to my surprise, I was given the chance to be in the KAPSUR docuseries, which features young people who speak French very well. At first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to take part in the shoot, but my family encouraged me to accept the invitation. And so my adventure with KAPSUR began.
The film crew came to Blind River and followed me around for a couple of days. The director came with a two-person crew. Everyone was friendly, and it was nice to get to know them. The team filmed me doing one of my biathlon training sessions, doing my chores on the farm and even walking through the village. We covered a lot of ground: my house, my church and my school!
In the end, it was a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to show people a large part of my daily life, and not just the parts that happen in French. The experience reminded me that my life is lived in both English and French, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.
There was even a member of their team who spoke only English, and I loved being able to interact with the whole group in both languages. That’s when I realized that being bilingual is more than being able to speak two languages; it’s an opportunity to interact with more people, to touch more lives.
I’m currently in Grade 12. My experience with KAPSUR was 18 months ago, and I’m ready to continue my adventure. I’ll be applying to the Bachelor of Nursing program at Boréal College to continue my education in French. This way, I’ll be able to maintain my level of French, and when I become a nurse, I’ll be able to help patients in English or French!
If learning another language presents challenges for you, as it does for me, the most liberating attitude you can have is to be grateful for all the opportunities that bilingualism brings you. Don’t worry about what other people think of you; just keep going. That’s what perseverance is all about—you keep going despite the difficulties.
