People always say that Canadians are really nice people. Well I can confirm that is true. When I was a travelling noob, what someone told me stuck with me ever since. Don’t worry, it was not an insult, it was assuring.
I was travelling from Toronto to St. Lucia in August 2016. I had spent about 9 weeks in Canada for vacation and also to become a permanent resident. It was the second time I was travelling on my own, and I was not used to it. Although I had travelled before, doing it on my own was a different experience. The first time I had to, I was a complete wreck. Thanks anxiety. So I was expecting this one to be even worse, since Toronto Pearson (or Lester B Pearson whatever you want to call it) is very very big.
I was going through security in Terminal 3 that day, obviously looking like a complete idiot. I ended up dropping my boarding pass on the ground without realizing and if it was not for a kind soul, I would not have realized. And it was a busy day because an airport that big is going to be busy. If you did not know, you need the boarding pass to board the actual plane. So losing it would have been a complete nightmare.
The person who noticed that I dropped, it was working in the security line that day. And he recognized that I was not familiar with travelling, even said so to me, and I confirmed that I wasn’t. When I said that, he told me “Don’t worry. You will get used to it one day.”
Four years later, that encounter stuck with me, because he was right. I have gotten used to travelling over the past few years. I would consider myself a pro by now, but I still look like an idiot most days.
I do not know this guy or if he still works there. I know he will not read this or even remember this encounter, seeing that he meets thousands of people a day. But I still want to say thank you because what you said stayed with me ever since. You are the only person that I have met when travelling that’s assured me that everything is going to be okay. You ended up comforting me that day and years later.
Arristella 
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