My favourite place.

Visits to the library form some of my most cherished childhood memories. It's been a resource I loved as a child and continued to use and benefit from into adulthood. To me, the library is a vehicle for freedom from ignorance, financial hardship, isolation and boredom. You can learn so much, gain new experiences, access resources to advance your career, find support, find out what's going on in your community, find out what's going on in the world -- and I am forever grateful that it's all free.

My parents moved here from China and are old enough to have experienced the aftermath of the cultural revolution.They moved here to give my siblings and I a better life and part of that was getting us the education they couldn't have and another part was saving as much as possible to give us a good future. We couldn't afford books, yet, because of the library, we always had our nose in books. We couldn't afford cable but who needs TV when you could spend hours reading and using your imagination instead? We couldn't speak the language of the land with our parents, but with the help of the library, we became proficient in English - even more so than some native speakers. And as we grew older and more distant from our heritage, the library offered opportunities to get back in touch with it and relearn some of the language we lost through their multicultural offerings online and in-branch.

To me, the library also represented my parents' love for us. We didn't do "I love you" or hugs, but my dad would take us to the library every week no matter how tired he was. He knew we loved reading and finding new books. I think about that every time I pass by my local branch.

I'm now a middle-aged adult with a stable well-paying career that allows me to take care of my parents. I attribute much of my success to the love of knowledge I gained from the library. And should the tide ever turn against my favour, I know I can rely on this resource again to help learn new skills, find a healthy escape from the burdens of reality, and access support and resources that can help me rebuild.