This picture was taken from my fire escape. It is one of the photos I took as a representation of home. This home being Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada where I go to university. It's the town my mom grew up in. Essentially, it's the town I grew up in, too. Though I wasn't born or raised in Sackville, I have spent the past four years here collecting enough knowledge to earn me a diploma.

As I'm about to graduate and move away from this great little town, I find the least significant things becoming important to remember. These are the stairs my roommates and I rush down each morning on our way to class. They're the stairs that used to be guarded by the building next door which burnt down in August. They're the stairs that are meant to save our lives in the case of a fire... yet they're made of wood. They're the stairs where I get to see the neighbors' grey cat sitting in the window. They're the stairs I can get the best view in the whole town from. They're probably even the highest stairs there is in Sackville.

Despite my BA, I learnt more about life in this small bubble of a town than anywhere before. Now seeing the world through an anthropologist's eye, I can tell you that there is a strong environmental influence on each and every one of us that I would not have recognized before. Sackville has taught us to smile and say hi to the stranger walking on the street. It has taught us to stop worrying about the paper that's due tomorrow and take in what's left of our time in the town and at the university. It has taught us that knowledge is indeed power, but personal relationships are what facilitate knowledge. It is the town where 2000 odd students grow each year.

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