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Hello everybody! It has been a while since the last time I released an episode. So to be clear from the start, this episode is the last one I’m launching, at least for a while. I launched the first episode in August of 2019. But I started working on it earlier that year, which means that I’ve been technically working on it for three years. It’s not easy to make the decision to put the podcast on hiatus because it’s an essential part of my identity. But at this point in my life, I need to prioritize and let go of things that are not the top priority. We all have been hurt by the covid pandemic, from not being able to go out and meet our friends to losing our loved ones. Unfortunately, I suffered both scenarios and still did my best to push forward. It has been over a year since my father-in-law passed. 2021 was a challenging year, and doing the podcast every week helped me distract from my day-to-day life. Then during the summer, I left a job that saw me grow for six and a half years to join LinkedIn, which, funny enough, it’s the only social media platform I check religiously. We all know that the first six months in a job are stressful; it’s when you’re learning and making mistakes. Unlearning things that worked in the past and learning new ones. But still, I kept the podcast going. Sometimes I didn’t have time after work, so I dedicated my weekends to prepare everything. And then I took a trip to Mexico over the holidays, and that’s when everything hit me. I realized that I’ve been so busy doing so many things in my spare time that I had neglected what matters the most to me, my family. When I came back to Toronto, I wondered what to do with the podcast, and, in the end, I decided to put it on hold. I honestly don’t know when I’ll be restarting it again, and I want to apologize to all the people who gave me time to tell their stories and never saw the light. I’m happy to say that I’m closing this part of my life with over 100 episodes that have been downloaded over 50,000 times in 132 countries. When I started this project, my goal was to reach at least 30 people per month. In the last few months, when I released new content, the average was over 3,000 downloads, a hundred times more than what I expected. I’m saving the best for the end. I always say that I’m just the guy who says hello and asks questions, and I believe that. The stories come from all my guests, all the people who took the time to talk to me and share a vital part of their lives. This project is for you. You are the ones who made this happen. So thank you! I’m not sure if or when I’ll come back, but in the meantime, you can always listen to other excellent podcasts that showcase stories about immigrants. You have the New to Canada podcast with my friend Kate and also The Immigrant View with Ayo. Each one has a different approach to telling the stories, but both of them do it from the heart. I have nothing else to say but goodbye and thank you for listening. I’m Oscar Cecena, and this was the last episode of Immigrants of Toronto. Subscribe to the Podcast If you enjoyed listening to this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. And make sure to follow the show on Instagram and LinkedIn. Lastly, if you're an immigrant and want to share your story on the show, go to immigrantsoftoronto.com/join and fill out the form. Thanks for listening, I'm Oscar Cecena, and this is Immigrants of Toronto.