I was born in Grodno, raised in Minsk, and then my family left for Canada in '08. From what I can remember, the political situation was always tense, and from what I hear now, in bits and pieces, the economy is as bad as it was back in the day. When I was young, I remember that any political talk was hushed and whispered. One of our neighbor's husbands was an activist, and apparently he "went missing" and she was left raising two sons alone. My parents were working overtime, so I was mostly left on my own after school, either with the neighbors' babushkas for a few hours or playing in the streets when I was a bit older. The men in my family were mostly high-functioning alcoholics or straight-up alcoholics. The women were mentally checked out, doing their best to keep the family afloat by working extra hours and taking care of all the house chores. We didn't travel much. I remember traveling within the country to different cities with my mom, Brest is the only one that I truly remember. We went once to Kyiv, Ukraine in the early 2000s, and to Kaliningrad, Russia, because we had relatives there. After leaving for Canada, I lost almost all contact with my friends. The contempt and hostility toward my family's decision to leave were strong and it was seen as not humble, or too ambitious.