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Throughout the trip, there were ups and downs. Late nights and early wake-up calls at 5:30 in the morning weren't the easiest with long days of paddling ahead but in the end, it is so worth it! Almost every night, the canoe families participate in ceremonial protocol on the Tseil-Watuth, Co-Salish, Musqueam, Tsawwassen, and Semiamhoo reserves. Upon every arrival to each reserve's shore, a representative from each canoe family respectfully asks permission to come ashore, feast, and celebrate with the members of each reserve. We were very fortunate to have Chief Constable Jim Chu and Deputy Chief Constable Doug LePard welcome the VPD canoe family as well as all the canoe families at Musqueam this year.

One of my favourite experiences during the trip was paddling with other canoe families. I was very fortunate to be in the bow of the Sitkum Canoe, where there were only 7 of us and we were paddling from Musqueam to Steveston. I had never lead a group, pacing each stroke but it was very enjoyable. My partner and I got the kids motivated by yelling and timing the strokes, and getting them to do power strokes. At the end of the day and every day after that, the skipper from Sitkum thanked me. There was no need for the thanks because it was already enough to smile and greet each other. When paddling from Steveston to Tsawwassen, I joined one of the RCMP canoes from Sechelt. They were incredibly warm and welcoming from the start and it was a pleasure to join their canoe family for the day. On the last day, the skipper and his wife approached me to say goodbye and immediately I felt the emotion kick in because even in the span of one day, it was hard to say goodbye to people I spent that memorable time with.

Many of the Aboriginal youth paddling this year are so excited to be a part of the trip. One of our sergeants claimed that if this trip could change one youth's life, it was worth it to put all our energy into it. Many of these kids are not privileged so coming into this community of paddlers and building relationships is an incredible experience for them to have. I think this is a huge factor of what influences my decision to enter policing. At Semiamhoo, in our final ceremonial circle, the Aboriginal youth were blessed and honoured for embarking on this journey. We were given sage and weaved cedar, and the speaker encouraged us to focus on our education and work towards positive and gratifying futures for ourselves. He stressed it is very sad to see youth give way to temptation and bad habits. From listening to the stories of the speakers and observing throughout this trip, I know now exactly why policing is my decided career choice.

Being a young Aboriginal woman who was brought up to make and act on good decisions, I want to bring hope to these kids who do not come from the best of backgrounds. If a growing number of Aboriginal people are positively represented in law enforcement, Aboriginal youth, elders, adults, and children will feel more comfortable in building relationships with police agencies. This year, an unnamed representative from one of the reserves approached our VPD party and asked for forgiveness. He told us that many of the canoe families had reservations about our municipal police agency participating because we are more efficient and physically stronger but his heart opened when we performed a rendition of "Lean on Me" in Tsawwassen and demonstrated that, despite being strong, we do reach out. This was the start of the reconciliation between police agency and members of the various Aboriginal communities.

I thank the Pulling Together Society and Board of Directors for organizing and coordinating the 2010 Journey. I now fully understand what the journey means, not the destination, and for that, I am forever grateful.