Hey friends 👋,
It’s Gabriel, and I hope you’ve had an amazing July! I’ve enjoyed it a lot, as it’s my birthday month and I was travelling throughout Europe and the UK.
What I’ve Been Up To 📈
Island Adventures: I travelled through Croatia, going on a cool bus tour to local islands (Lokrum, Šipan, Lopud, and Koločep) to swim and explore the local history. While there, I had the best burger and pizza I’ve ever tasted.
Museum Highlights: Visited the British Museum and saw an 800-year-old chess set worth $1,300,000 CAD, plus the Rosetta Stone!
“Centre of the Universe” and a 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Space Rock: I visited Greenwich, home of the Royal Observatory, where Greenwich Mean Time was defined, saw the Prime Meridian, and touched a meteorite from the early days of our solar system.
Birthday Milestone: Celebrated my 17th birthday on July 21, 2025.
Website Project (Coming Soon): Planning an upcoming upgrade to the Vancouver Irish School of Music website.
Nonprofit Update: I’ve formally applied for vice-regal patronage from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, for my not-for-profit, Oasis of Change Inc. If approved, that honorary endorsement would give national visibility and credibility to the mission — spotlighting the thousands of trees we’ve planted and the sustainable website work we’re doing. Wish me luck! 🤞
Achievements & Highlights 🏆
Internship Completed: I wrapped up the Formaloo Product Marketing Manager internship — stay tuned for my reflection article covering my experience.
TKS Reflection Published: Spent multiple months writing a deep reflection on my goals, wins, and challenges during my 10-month experience at The Knowledge Society (TKS), which is a global accelerator for youth. Read it here: TKS Reflection.
Sugar Break: I’m trying the FODMAP diet to limit the sugars I ingest. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, which are short-chain carbohydrates that the small intestine absorbs poorly.
Birthday Challenge Complete: I set a birthday goal of getting three top TransLink executives to either say “Happy Birthday” to me or like my birthday post, and I did it! One of them said “Happy Birthday,” and the other two liked my post.
View Post I’ve been using TransLink more to explore Metro Vancouver, so the birthday challenge felt fitting.
Quotes 💬
“An entire generation is currently studying for jobs that will not exist.”
“The goal of life is to be excited to go to work and excited to go home”
“You’re not behind. As much as you think you are, you’re not. You are just too busy comparing a low light of yours to someone else’s highlight. You and I are the worst versions of ourselves today, assuming we continue to improve with each passing day."
Curious about my past adventures?
Catch up on all my previous updates in the newsletter archive. You never know what gem you might find!
Shoutouts 👏
Family Support: My entire family has always supported me throughout my life, and I wouldn’t be where I am right now without them.
Newsletter Feedback: Thanks to Pranav for giving me feedback on my monthly newsletter so I can improve it for you, the reader on the screen right now. If you have any feedback, please reply to this email as I would love to hear your thoughts.
Kolapo Akande: Had a fantastic meeting about a potential collaboration between our nonprofits. I connected with the founder of Pledge Software, the team behind Pactman.org — a platform that links nonprofits with volunteers and donors. They support a network of over 2.5 million charities.
What’s Next? 🚀
Nominate me for the Order of BC: I’m trying to get the Order of British Columbia medal. If you have time, I would love it if you could nominate me! I’ll tell ya, these monthly updates will be a lot more interesting once I get it: Order of BC Nomination Form.
Summer Job Idea: The boat trip in Croatia reconnected me with my love for the Earth's oceans and waterways, making me want to work near a marina this summer – potentially the one where I was born!
Board Member Aspirations: I’m very curious about becoming a board member for some organizations in the future, and I have been reaching out to people to learn more.
Tree-Planting Goal: I have an ambitious goal of planting 25,000 trees by 2027 through my not-for-profit, Oasis of Change Inc.
Quick Ask 🙏
Know someone who’d enjoy following a young entrepreneur’s journey? Please forward this email and invite them to subscribe — every new reader helps me grow and keeps the adventure going.
Best,
Gabriel Dalton
P.S. Want more behind-the-scenes? For more in-depth discussions, check out my LinkedIn or Medium profiles.