My first community meeting...

I attended my first city community meeting last Thursday... which to me was a great experience in personal involvement.

When I was fairly younger and in my school days, especially during my time in high school I was very active in my school's community, a social convener for a year at my school, an advocate for things I felt were not right that I watched around me, a peer councilor from the first year I entered school. I guess I enjoyed the feeling of being involved, thought it was something you just did while you were a teen... but much to my knowledge it is something I was craving, needing to do get involved.

So I attended my first save the pool meeting in my district, my poor district has been marred with a 30% of intended pool closures by 2010. What a disturbing thought, that in this day and age of high rising numbers of childhood obesity taking away a physical activity from our kids. Worst as well, city run decisions, city sponsored TDSB and pools which we pay money towards and somehow no one is allowed to use them.

There were a few speeches made by Peter Tabuns, the Ontario MP for our ward, our current city councilor for ward 30 Paula Fletcher, and the District school board Mrs. Dandy were also in attendance. Everyone shared their opinions but not much offered as from the political side of the matter, most was left to the school, it's parental student council and other save the pools groups to try and save the pool.

I must add the initiative to save the pool from the parents, the community was great and nice to see a community pull together to foster ideas and come up with ways to save this part of the school... which I realised is something difficult to prove that the swimming pool is also a classroom.

One of the reasons I feel like I identify myself in this cause is because I believe swimming is a right of passage... my parents never taught me to swim, I learnt from a family member on vacation to Greece. My school never offered swimming lessons to us students, it was not a part of our curriculum... when I got into the pool in high school I had no proper training and my swimming style is very self taught. But I never feel more at peace when I am swimming away.., and I feel that children should have that right to experience here in Toronto.

So my first community meeting a success, I was filmed for CTV news, but the tape did not get picked up as the precedent was to put on an American Balloon Boy story instead... but my involvement reminded me how much I love to get involved and partake.