Carmen Rodríguez

This morning, I thought about my hike along the shores of Lake Louise in Canada last year… and I felt a real wave of nostalgia.
It was early.
The sun had barely risen, and there was this calm… almost unreal.
No noise.
No traffic.
Just the sound of birds and that light, fresh breeze.
But what struck me the most was the air.
Pure air. Light.
Air that makes you feel like you're breathing for the very first time.
I remember stopping for a few seconds, just to take a deep breath.
No discomfort.
No feeling of "heavy" air.
We forget how good it feels… until we experience it again.
Ever since, I've been longing to go back.
To relive that simple yet so comforting moment.
Sometimes, it's those small instants that remind us what it truly means to breathe well.

I developed my first allergies at 12 years old… and I never really understood why.
I was living with my parents in a small apartment.
It wasn't unhealthy, no… but there was always that dampness.
The walls were cold.
Sometimes there was a faint smell, hard to describe.
And above all, every morning I woke up with a stuffy nose.
Back then, I thought it was normal.
But over the years, the symptoms kept building up:
— frequent sneezing
— irritated throat
— exhaustion the moment I woke up
— a feeling of "heavy" breathing
Doctors talked about "respiratory allergies."
But no one really talked about the cause.
What struck me the most is that these symptoms appeared mostly at night and in the morning.
Not during the day.
Not outside.
Only at home.
Today, looking back, I understand that the environment we live in plays a huge role in our health… especially when we're young.
And sometimes, we get used to things that should never be considered normal.

Hi, my name is Carmen.
I'm 54 years old and I've been living in the same house in Toronto for over 22 years.
Like many people, I've always taken care of my home.
Regular cleaning, ventilation every day… I thought I was doing everything right.But in recent years, I started paying more attention to things you can't see with the naked eye.
Air quality.
Sleep.
And the impact of our environment on our daily wellbeing.Nobody really 😊