Imagine this: it’s the summer of 2011, your dad just came back from work. He calls you and your younger sister into the living room, and as you sit down, he says the words, “we are moving.” Except, I wasn’t imagining it. This was real. At that moment all I felt was sheer panic. How was I going to tell my friends? What was going to happen to the house? These were things I thought would be in my life forever. Growing up, I liked the idea of continuity and being in one place my whole life. I kind of hoped for that “Stars Hollow” feel, but that wasn’t my reality. Instead, I was about to leave the life I knew in my small town in Michigan and start my life from scratch in Katy, Texas.
The thought of Texas scared me. All I knew were the stereotypes in the movies—horses, cowboys, saloons, and farms. Little did I know it was the exact opposite. Explaining to my friends that Texas wasn’t what they thought was nearly impossible. They, just like me, only knew the stereotypes. Looking back, moving was the best thing that happened to me because I was able to get out of my comfort zone and understand the real world. So at the age of nine, I moved to what seemed like a different world. A place where the people were nice and had strange accents. I would soon come to find that this would be the start to a spiral of moves over the next seven years.
Our time in Katy was cut short due to a job opportunity for me dad, so we packed our bags and headed to Shreveport, Louisiana not even three years later. Shreveport was also short-lived. Two years we found ourselves in Dallas, Texas.
Moving was something I never thought I would enjoy because who likes leaving their friends, family, and home? However, with each move, I saw a new opportunity. A new opportunity to meet new people, try new foods, and go to new places. Moving allowed me to understand myself better because there were times when I was the only one there for myself. I had to learn how to listen to myself and discover who I truly was. If I hadn’t moved, I would not have found out that I love Korean food or that I really enjoy taking photos and going to concerts!
Of all the places I lived, none of them meant more to me than this next destination. Each city came with its fair share of friends, family, and memories that I will cherish for a lifetime, but I knew I couldn’t stay in one place for too long. Maybe it was because of the way I grew up or that I love to travel, but the idea of change felt refreshing. So when it came time to apply to college, I was ready for one more move. This would be the first time in my whole life that my friends and family wouldn’t be next door. I would be moving to a different time zone, a different state, a different city. Everyone thought I was crazy to go almost two-thousand miles away from home to Amherst, MA and they were right. It’s crazy to be completely alone in a new place, but this is the push I needed. This move is exactly what I need to grow and pursue the goals I set out for myself. I saw it as an opportunity to learn to become independent. This would be the first thing I did for myself, it was the push I needed, and it was time for me to be on my own.
So here I am. Living in Amherst, Massachusetts. Two-thousand miles away from home.
Photos: 1, 2, 3 (image courtesy of the author), 4