On sisters and happiness and knowing I can always come home.

So, it's here.


Yesterday I had my 'going away' party-- it seems strange to me that I won't be in Vancouver for a year in a few days.

I was gonna say something really sappy but I'm all emotioned out. if you came, thanks, love you. 💕 here's to that next adventure.

A post shared by Célina (@celinagabrielle) on Mar 19, 2017 at 3:27pm PDT

My mother and her friend worked tirelessly to make it wonderful and memorable and it was everything I could have ever hoped for. My mother has always been (and will always be) willing to go to the ends of the earth for me, and it's something I hope I can practise and pass on to the people I love.

your mom might be extra, but she'll never be 'creates-an-entire-photobooth-for-you-and-your-friends' extra. 😚

A post shared by Célina (@celinagabrielle) on Mar 19, 2017 at 5:36pm PDT

Everyone who showed up to tell me they were going to miss me made me feel so loved I felt like I could burst. The last year was strange and weird, but I felt like I grew a lot as a person, and maybe I might be an adult by the time I'm thirty.

Absolutely no promises.

But I feel like... I need to let everyone know, before I leave, that none of this would have happened without my sister, who believed in me so hard that she moved me into her house and let me live there, rent-free. And fed me her food. That she cooked (my sister is an amazing cook, by the way).

In return? All I had to do was watch my niece for her while she was at work. Yeah, this little munchkin:

wow what a hard job right. 

And then, on top of that, she became my sounding board while we lived together. Every anxiety, every determination, every question I had, she was right behind me guiding me. I mean, don't get me wrong, there were times when I thought we might murder each other, but I'm pretty comfortable in saying that this made me a million times closer to her than I've ever been (and also a million times more certain I'm really not a small town girl).

I don't think I could ever repay her for the things she has done for me, but I guess I wanted to tell everyone about it before I go, because if I'm flying right now, it's only because she gave me her wings.

a little less alcohol. a little more wisdom. same faces, same hearts, and same smiles. happy birthday to my favourite person; life would be unimaginably terrible without you. 💛

A post shared by Célina (@celinagabrielle) on Jun 12, 2016 at 8:34pm PDT

So yeah, while everyone is wishing me luck or telling me all of my hard work paid off, I just wanted to remind you all that there's an extra special woman standing behind me always, and she's the reason most days I feel like I can go anywhere I want in the world.

Because I know that I can always come home, too.