I'm wearing my orange shirt for #OrangeShirtDay. It's meaningful for me because much of my childhood was spent wandering the melancholic, decaying halls of a near-abandoned residential school, where my parents both worked.

As far as I can tell, it was the last remaining residential school in BC, which shut down in 1985. Every inch of that school is encrusted in my memories. The echoes, the smells, the voices, the abandoned and dusty furniture and school supplies.

My parents rarely talk about their experiences working at the school, I suspect because of the unspeakable guilt of working there. In the final years, there were only a handful of kids remaining. The empty halls and dormitories occupied my time for hours while my parents worked.

I remember wandering through the dormitories and seeing sporadic piles of abandoned clothes, toys, tennis racquets, soccer balls, and basketballs. Sadness permeated everything in those final years of decay.

And yet, everything I believe about sympathy, empathy, and love for others came from my proximity to those abandoned objects that were used by the kids at this school.

Through those objects, found throughout the entire school, I forged friendships with the remaining kids there. We would go on detailed searches for new things to occupy our time. We searched together for unknown corners, rooms, and shortcuts previously unknown.

I know this is not about me. And that's my ultimate point in this thread. My memories are of an outsider's point of view, but also a kid's point of view. Even as early as the age of 5, I knew the residential school system was wrong. The evidence was everywhere around me.

For me, there was still something redemptive about the decay. Every abandoned pile of furniture, toys, clothing, books, and school supplies contained memories of the children who attempted to find some meaning and value in such a miserable experience.

This is my limited story to tell in a larger, more complicated, and traumatic national story. I don't have all the angles right, and this is my first attempt to ever put into words my own limited experiences. All my love and respect on this day.