Quietly, I sat looking up at the cumulus Texas clouds looking back on the past few years. How have things changed so rapidly? Was it just two years ago that the news was broken to me that I would be moving half way across the United States? Although it had been a rough time it seems like history now. Today, I look back on the past years with the memory of a hard time that ultimately changed me for the better.

Halfway through my freshman year, a year filled with the stress of fitting in and the vigor of new rigorous courses, my parents revealed the news that almost broke my heart. I remember knowing something was going on but still, hearing the words “We are moving to Texas”, escape from my mother’s mouth came as the biggest surprise. I remember going through so many emotions, most of which were caused by the complete terror I felt.
I went through the stages of denial, anger, and finally contentment before the move but I was not prepared for what was to come the following year. At the beginning of my sophomore year, I had simply chosen to deal with the regret of moving away from my dear friends in Tampa. Although I had pictured myself graduating from my familiar home and going off to college and saying goodbye to the friends I had for years, I accepted that life didn’t always go how you might plan it too. I knew God had a plan in store for me that was way beyond my imagination and so I decided to come into Texas with an open mind and willing heart.

Although I did enter Liberty Christian School my sophomore year with an open mind, I was not prepared for the struggle that was ahead. The struggle did not lie in making new friends that had not been hard for me. The real struggle was in obtaining friendships that were of the same caliber of the friends I had known in Tampa. Not only did I feel great loss, but I could not quite find that same level of personal relations with the new people I had met. I tried to keep a happy face on and tried to persevere through the rough patch I was going through but I couldn’t seem to get back what I had in my former life back in Tampa. It took countless tears and hysterical phone calls to my friends back home for me to realize that I couldn’t compare what I had with my old friends to my new relationships. I couldn’t keep comparing or else I would never be happy.
Fortunately I began to see that great things take time and I observed the kinds of people in my new home. Soon I found a group that I new I wanted to surround myself with and were true genuine friends to me. Like any other teenager who moves, I am sure they endure such struggles as mine but I think what was hardest for me is realizing that my old friends aren’t going away. They would remain my friends that I had known for years and would continue on with me into the future despite the distance.
My girl friends have come to Texas many times in the last few years and it is always as if nothing has changed. I would not ever change the fact that I moved but it was most definitely the hardest thing I have ever had to go through and it still makes me emotional to this day. I have changed because of the lessons that moving has taught me and knowing that I will always be surrounded by my loving family and I will never lose old friends. Sure, I had pictured things to turn out a lot differently but I believe I had to endure this to learn lessons about friendship and family.