David James Leslie

After high school, my two roads which diverged in a yellow wood were teaching and mathematics. Fate and circumstance chose the road to a long and successful career in IT which satisfied my logical, analytical brain but left my caring, sympathetic brain famished and desiccated. After my return from six months of teaching English in Bali for an NGO, I volunteered for a year giving conversation classes to newcomers to Canada. These two experiences gave me a feeling of great satisfaction, from seeing: how quickly their English improved, how grateful and appreciative they were of my efforts, how much of a difference I could make in energising their lives and in giving them a chance for more opportunity and a fresh start in a new world. It made me realise that I could be needed, useful and feel fulfilled, give meaning and purpose to my life and to give succour to the neglected part of my bran, my better nature; by helping others in their quest and desire for English proficiency and full and productive participation in society. The wheel has come full circle and I am back again at those two roads diverging in a yellow wood. I am now taking the other path and that will make all the difference.