Being a graphic design major and aiming to work within the film industry is not an easy task. Our curriculum has no focus on this area, and therefore, I was lacking in a significant part of my education that would have informed my future. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) program, even if brief in duration, offered me the opportunity to connect with others who share my dream of working in this industry and learn from their perspectives and knowledge.

However, the Toronto International Film Festival was more than a chance to learn on a professional level, but a personal challenge that allowed me to grow and develop as a person. My first time in Toronto was an adventure—from tears to laughter and everything in between. So many experiences, emotions, and sensations were formed in that short time period, and I'm thankful for each one of them. I made new friends, tried new foods, had small conflicts (mostly, from living with other 5 girls); I was disappointed, I was surprised, I was euphoric, I was angry, I was tired, I was sad, I was happy, and by the end I didn’t want to leave.

This is not the first time I took a trip without knowing anyone, where I decided to jump into the opportunity because saying yes gives you more stories than no, where I decided that living with regrets was not something I was willing to live with. All I knew when I stepped onto that bus was that I would take every chance presented to me to make friends, to watch a new movie, to try a new restaurant, to have another cup of coffee, and to learn on both professional and personal levels.

Toronto, specifically, was a great surprise. As a neurodivergent person, I always have my guard up, but Toronto quickly made me feel welcomed with its mix of skyscrapers and classic-style buildings, parks, and dogs. From every major city I have ever visited, Toronto was the one that made me feel safest, even though it was a little too loud. Even if not perfect, Toronto and TIFF had so much to offer that the last thing anyone wanted to do was return to the hostel.

My experience on this study abroad program will be forever something that I hold close to my heart. But if I can accomplish something, anything with this statement is that someone else sees it as a sign—a sign to say “yes” to the opportunity in front of you, to the new friends, the new cuisines, the new smells, the new sounds, the new sight, and the new memories. Take a chance. Life is too short to not see everything you can.

• Name: Yasmin Daher Macri
• Status: Senior
• Major: Graphic Design
• Hometown: Taubaté, Brazil
• Program: Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)