Growing Up in Banff Alberta

Since this is my last blog and we were given the choice to write about whatever we wanted, I have decided to write about my hometown. I believe that growing up in a small town has had a huge impact on shaping the person I am today. I was born in a small popular tourist town, which was Canada's first National Park centered in the Rocky Mountains, called Banff. Since I have grown up and moved away, first to Victoria and now to Calgary, it has really made me appreciate where I grew up a lot more and has made me realize how much I took it for granted growing up. Growing up somewhere where literally everyone knows each other made it tough for me to move away after grade 12 to a city where I did not know anybody. Since living away from home, whenever I tell people that I am from Banff they cannot believe it and tell me how lucky I am. Living in a small outdoorsy town has given me the opportunity that most city kids do not have such as, learning so much about nature and it has also made me a very active person. I think Banff is a great community to raise your children; it is safe and is filled with amazing people. Unlike many kids who would sit inside and play all day or play video games, my childhood was mostly spent in the outdoors consisting of going on many hikes, bike rides and just playing games outside. 

I would recommend visiting Banff to anyone young or old, as there are plenty of different activities for everyone to enjoy. For the younger crowd, Banff has quite the nightlife having 3 nightclubs and tons of bars and pubs, and during the weekends a lot of people come into Banff to go out. For both younger and older people there is a ton of shopping in the downtown area, and during the winter months Banff is surrounded by many popular ski hills. A new addition to Banff's winter season is the Snow Days Festival where the town of Banff puts on different activities that are fun for the whole entire family. Some of these activities include ice sculpting, skating, tobogganing and ice climbing. During the summer, there are also plenty of things to do as well in the park such as hiking any of the beautiful hiking trails, which are available at all different hiking levels There are also a ton of great walking and biking trails around the town, as well as having the bow river in the middle of the town which allows you to go on and take canoe trips.  

No matter where I end up in life Banff will always be my home. If I do not end up living there again when I am older, I will definitely be visiting a lot. I believe growing up in Banff has had a significant impact on the person I am today, and I could not have grown up in a better place!