We+are+More

We are More

What this poem means to me: This poem tells us about the stereotypes applied to us, but "we are more" than those stereotypes. We are a mix of cultures, all lending a new perspective to our communities. We believe in generations of tomorrow, we are young, with fresh ideas and ambition. We have choices, we keep exploring and wanting to know more. This means to me that we are young, with so many opportunities and choices, we want to explore and create, our futures are up to us, our past does not define where we will go. He tells us we have done so much with our country, but we are still new and developing, and we will only get better. "So don't let your luggage define your travels" says that we all come from different places and lifestyles and experiences, but we are full of potential and are fighting to keep getting better. Personally, I am of chinese and european background, but I can just be called "Canadian". With all the diverse cultures and backgrounds we aren't changed to fit the country, the country is changed to fit us. No matter where everyone comes from, we are not called chinese-canadians or african-canadians etc; we are simply canadians.

"So don't let your luggage define your travels" This metaphor creates the analogy of luggage to baggage, physical or emotional, your past. The listener connects travels to your future, as in where you will go, not neccesarily going to a place, but what you will do. This helps people understand his metaphor of "don't let your past influence the future". The impact changes from when you read the poem to when you hear it, Shane Koyczan uses pacing and volume to emphasize certain words and phrases. To emphasize words, he will slow down and speak quieter, then speed up and add volume. 5.5/6