Bios

Hello my name is Monica Laryssa, but I prefer to be called Laryssa. I was born in Brazil. My childhood was okay. When I was 17 years old I discovered I was pregnant. Being pregnant as a teenager was very hard, but I changed a lot when my daughter was born. Her name is Helena. One month after she was born, I separated from her father, because he is a terrible person. When my daughter was one years old, I went to university, and I met my current husband. Unfortunately, I needed to stop my studies because I didn’t have a lot of money, but I started working in the area I chose, Interior Design and carpentry. I worked in that area for 14 years. In 2014, I had my youngest son Erick.

In 2017, after living in Sao Paulo, my family moved to another province in Brazil called Santa Catarina. I moved because my husband got a new job. We lived in Santa Catarina for 4 years, and we bought a house.

When the 2020 pandemic occurred, my husband was in Canada for work, and at that time the company opened a new position in the Toronto office and my husband applied. He stayed in Canada for 6 months because all the flights were canceled. He waited for a flight from the Brazilian government to return to Brazil, and I stayed 6 months by myself taking care of our two kids. When he returned to Brazil, he said we would move to Canada because the company approved him to work in the Toronto office. We needed to wait until 2021 to arrive in Canada. It was a long journey with 2 kids and 2 cats. We brought all the family, especially the pets. My two cats are old. Janis is 14 years old and Pissinha is 13 years old, and they are special to me and my family.

I work now in a Retirement Community. I’m a server in the dining room. I liked my job because the residents are like my grandmas and grandpas for me, and they helped me a lot because I missed my mom and my friends, but I missed my career in Brazil. I love carpentry. I miss creating furniture and rooms. I really enjoy using my creativity in my life. My life now is good. Compared to my life in Brazil, I feel very safe here in Canada.

My future goal is to see my youngest son in university or college, and my daughter finish her university degree and get a great job. I would like to come back to my area of interior design and carpentry because I miss using my creative all day. If I come back in my career, I know everything will change for me and my family. That’s why I started studying English because I wish to come back in my career, and get a better future for me, my kids and husband.