We're sharing the contest entries from our Photos of Home grad student competition.

This photo is from Vanessa Wong, Urban Studies Program. She writes:

Before I moved to Vancouver to pursue my Masters in Urban Studies at Harbour Centre, I lived in Cambridge, Ontario, approximately an hour and a half west of Toronto.

Cambridge is a small town. I think there was one night club (called the Grasshopper) and it is known for its outlet stores and a Honda factory.

The almost 2 years I lived in Cambridge I had no friends. I was an unintentional hermit. I knew my life in Cambridge was temporary so I worked with what I had and took comfort in the little things that made me happy such as the novelty of living in a small, rural town.

I look back on those pictures now and I feel really nostalgic for that time in my life. It wasn't the most exciting of times but it was comforting. I had freedom, money and I could be as selfish with my free time as I wanted to be — all items which escape me as a student.

Note: Vanessa also blogs about her grad student life on the Urban Studies students' blog.