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Every day I have many choices to make about who I want to be.
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Somalia is very dangerous, and no one knows that better than I.
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I would like to especially acknowledge my home community of Calgary, and the people of central Alberta who made my dream of freedom a reality.
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It was a slow understanding that the lack of education in a country like Somalia creates these huge social problems.
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Getting on a plane is hard for me, but I do it, because travel is vital to me.
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I have a general sense of excitement about the future, and I don't know what that looks like yet. But it will be whatever I make it.
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My confidence came from the way I grew up, and I'm grateful for it.
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Contemplating Christmas when you are isolated and far from home brings its own unique pain.
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The countries with the greatest problems have the kindest people.
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I have watched lives change. I have seen women gain confidence.
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Hamdi Ulukaya and Chobani have made the decision to feed 250,000 victims of the Somali famine. Their compassion speaks for itself, and is a shining example of how the business community can have an enormous positive impact on the world.
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Going into Somalia, I didn't anticipate how many people's lives would be affected by it. In hindsight, I certainly wish I had taken more time to think about that, but I can't change it.
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Women in Somalia face almost unimaginable oppression.
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Sometimes, you have to make the choice to forgive 10 times a day when you have these pockets of anger come up. That's a lot of work, but to me it's worthwhile.
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After being in captivity for so long, I can't begin to describe how wonderful it feels to be home in Canada.
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Being in the dark, there's a real weight to it. It's heavy.
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Hillary Clinton has a strong and powerful voice regarding ending violence against women and girls.
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I went through an extremely trying ordeal, but I never forgot the world outside was a beautiful place.
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I think that I find a lot of my healing out in the world.
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After spending 460 days as a hostage, I did emerge a fundamentally changed person. But I think, like everyone does as they grow older and probably wiser, I can look back at my earlier life - my history, my mistakes, the joy I felt as a young woman traveling the world - with some objectivity and even some humor.
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I must thank my good friend Nigel Brennan. His strength of character in the midst of extreme hardship inspired me during the darkest days. Despite our separation, he always managed to find small ways to remind me that there are gentlemen in the world, even when I was surrounded by just the opposite.
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I don't think I'm unusual in that, in my 20s, like many people, I felt invincible.
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Many, including the Canadian and U.S. governments, try to provide family support while also maintaining a hard line about further fuelling terrorism and hostage-taking through ransom payments ... Still, try telling that to a mother, or a father, or a husband or wife caught in the powerless agony of standing by.
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I'm not afraid of IED's, bullets, mortars.