When I walked into my first grade class on the first day of school, all I could hear was the buzz of all the people talking. For me everything was different and everything was new and I didn’t know anyone. Rand School was like no other school I had ever seen. It was a big red brick building with a lot of windows and one main door that everyone went through. Everything was inside and I had to walk down stairs to get to my classroom. From the day I was born through my kindergarten year, I lived in Palo Alto California. The school I went to there was called Ohlone. It had a huge open field in the middle and all the lunch tables were outside under an awning. My pre school was the same; the room opened to a patio and yard space. My family moved to Montclair because my father got a new job, and this was definitely something that I would have to get used to.



The moment that my mom left me in that classroom, I became very upset and started to cry. The teacher’s aide, Mrs. Corbassera, was one of the nicest people I had ever met. She comforted me and made me feel a lot better. I told her why I was so sad and she told me it was okay, everybody felt a little nervous the first day. At the time, I did not understand why I was so sad. I had not even been nervous when I started kindergarten. The rest of the day was a little better, but I remember that I was wishing I was back in California with all my friends.



After I calmed down, my teacher Mrs. Cowan started reading reading us a story. I began to feel more relaxed. But after a little while the school nurse came to the door and asked me to come out into the hallway. I had no idea what was going on but when I saw my older sister standing there I got worried. It turned out that Julia was even more nervous than me. She wanted to come see me because she was so upset. This made me feel good and I felt as though the day might turn around. But then my teacher dropped the bomb shell. I had my first ever homework assignment! I was so scared I started feeling bad again, but I knew that I could get through it.


We did some more work (things I had never even heard of!) and then finally it was time to go to lunch. I had no idea what to expect as soon as I saw that I would be eating inside a cafeteria. I walked in and there were just tables all lined up and huge windows lined all the walls. My teacher lead us to our lunch table and then disappeared. I didn’t know anyone except for one girl I had met just a couple days before. I felt so alone, everyone around me was talking. I just wanted to go home. To my REAL home in Palo Alto where I knew all my friends were.


The next day went more smoothly and so did the rest of the year. I made friends and I learned a lot in that school. I ended up really liking Montclair and making many good friends. Having the experience of moving to a new place has really helped me grow. I also get to go back to California two or three time a year. I visit my old friends with whom I still keep in touch. Six years later, I can actually say that I’m glad I moved because I’ve made really great friends. This move wasn’t so bad after all!