Between Two Worlds — How I Redefined Success from Beirut’s Echoes to Montreal’s Rhythms
Tracing My Roots from a City of Resilience to Finding My Place in Montreal
Montreal’s first snowfall, as a three-year-old, was a world apart from anything I had known. The world outside was painted in white, a stark contrast to the sun-soaked tales of Beirut my parents shared. I would sit, captivated, as they recounted our family’s shared memories. Beirut was described with a deep fondness, a city of close-knit communities and familial bonds. Yet, it was also a place where the sounds of laughter were sometimes overshadowed by the noise of conflict.
While Montreal presented a world of opportunities and conventional successes — the milestones of education, career, and property — the stories from Beirut carried a deeper essence. Here, success wasn’t about what you had but who you were; it was about enduring, standing together, and rising above challenges. As I grew older, these two worlds would often collide, leading me on a personal journey to redefine what success really meant to me, blending lessons from my family’s history with my experiences in Montreal.
The memories of Beirut I carry with me are ones I didn’t personally live, but rather inherited through the tales of my family. Each story, sung…
