My parents and older brother immigrated to Canada in 1994 during the Yugoslavian war. Up until my two perfect cutie pie nieces were born, I was the only person in my family to be born in Canada, in 1999.

Like many immigrant families, apart from my immediate family, everyone else is back in Croatia. My parents left their entire families, their friends, and their beloved home when they came here.

My family is from Zadar, right on the coast of Croatia. For as long as I can remember, going back to visit meant spending hours swimming in the sea and hanging out on the shore looking for cool shells and rocks. My mom and I joke that we both have a magnetic pull to any body of water near us and that there is sea salt in our veins.

Even though I was born in Vancouver, the second I arrive back in our small town on the coast of Croatia, I feel like I am exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I've made it back home.