As I walk down the street, I remember why I love this city. What helps me remember are the restaurants. I’m on College Street just west of downtown, and there’s an endless smorgasbord. Some big, some small. Some bougie, some simple. In about the 5 blocks I walked to the grocery store, I counted at least 10 different types of cuisines.
Toronto, my home. The city that I love and the one that loves me. The most diverse city on the planet, the city that lets you bring your whole self from wherever you are and embraces you. I don’t live in Canada. I live in the world, and every passing face (and delicious restaurant!) is a reminder of that privilege, of that luck, of that happiness.
I’m lucky because I got to grow up in different places. 9 years in India (Delhi), 9 years in the US (1 in California, and 8 in New Jersey), and my entire adult life in Canada (in and around Toronto). I’ve seen a few different places in the world, and I have loved all of it.
Nothing, however, makes me happier than a stroll through my city. Los Angeles is the city of angels. New York is the city of hustle. Toronto is the city of humanity, an endless ocean of people from all over the world bringing their whole selves.
I love Delhi – it will always feel like home, even if I’ve spent most of my life away from it. I had a 1 year stay in fabulous Orange County, and soaked every minute of that LA sunshine. I grew up in the shadow of New York, inspired by the the city of possibilities that shaped how I felt about work, about hustle, about life.
Toronto, however, will always be the place that made fall in love over and over again with this wonderful world we live in. I hope I get to see many cities and countries in my lifetime, but I feel privileged because I get to see the world in Toronto every single day. Toronto will always be my heart.