Philippe...

At this point, I am very agressive, and one morning following a night spent in the bitter cold, I am taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Without my knowledge, I am admitted to the psychiatric ward. I stay there two months. Upon leaving the hospital, I am placed in a home in Saint-Léonard. I feel so relieved to finally be in a stable place where I can relax and regain my strength. One fine day, the owner asks me if I would like to resume my studies and informs me of the nearby CASP class. I agree to go. Because of the medication I was on and everything I had been through, my memory had taken a beating. When my French and Math skills were evaluated, I was told that I would need to review the subject matter of the intermediary level before taking up my grade 10 studies. At first, I was discouraged, but I decided to charge ahead. Everyday, I understood more and more. I would increasingly remember things I had learned before and this encouraged me. Slowly, I regained confidence in myself and in my abilities.

One day, I met a girl. She too had dropped-out of school and was unemployed. She was lonely and felt time drag on during the time that I was in class. Once, while talking about my experience, I tried to convince her to resume her studies. She agreed to, since she understood that it would help her and since she would be with me more often.

During the summer of 2001, I got involved in a local event, entitled “Festival du Draveur Acadien”, as a volunteer. I helped out as much as I could and even got to see Édith Butler up close. During that time, I also began practicing Kung Fu. I really enjoyed the personal discipline that that sport teaches, but I had to stop when I began working part-time nights and on the weekends. With my fulltime studies, it was too much.

Today, I am proud of myself and my stunning successes, even in French which was my worst subject in school. My parents and my family are very happy that I have gone back to school and are very proud of my success. However, the most important thing is that I am proud and happy. With determination, I will complete my studies once and for all.

My teacher, who’s very proud of me, is now helping me prepare for the GED exams (General Equivalency Diploma). I’ve even started thinking about postsecondary studies, something that I never even considered in the past. However, my grades are good enough that I could attend those classes without worrying.

In closing, I would like to add that with the help of the CASP class “Éducation des adultes de Saint-Léonard”, I have become someone I never thought to be. The future seems much more interesting now that I have a goal to reach. It’s what motivates me and gets me to class every morning. I would like to give this advice to the other learners : “Live close to the literacy class (to be able to walk there).”

Written by Philippe Morin, St-Léonard, NB