Who in this world has never lost a friend? Who has never had a friendship disintegrate or fall apart, because of the people in it or circumstances? I am no stranger to losing friends. Just two or three years ago, I lost almost all my friends, all at once. Why? Because I moved, from Ohio to Michigan. Suddenly, close friends I saw everyday, for one year, two years, five years, eight years, were practically memories. We may have said "We'll email" or "We'll text" but you lose things to talk about. How do I explain the opportunities I have here, when they have never heard of CSMTech or robotics? How do I tell them that I actually take advanced classes, instead of the "honors" classes back in fifth grade? In Ohio, the best classes you could take were honors classes, math and language arts. They claimed the classes were no different, just taught differently, which makes no sense to me. Science and Social Studies were the same class. "Electives" were short classes that were predetermined for everyone. The only choice you got was band or choir. In Michigan, music isn't a requirement, I can choose many of my classes, I am in high level classes, science and social studies are separate classes, so different. I can't live in the past with my friends. I can't stay in the "remember when... we played tag at Girl Scouts, I was the fairy/witch babysitter for the porcupine "children", we sorted books during lunch, that the celery was in the 'fridge." Those conversations only last so long. How do I show that I have new interests, different ones then I used to. How do I show that I'm practically a babysitter at any neighborhood party I go to, that I don't have math or science on half days, that hanging out with friends is playing board games and watching shows we both like? When I left , I was a child, climbing trees, playing with toys, and now in Michigan, I grew up. I babysit, I have some homework, I read books. Some things don't change, my favorite Girl Scout cookies are still Savanah Smiles and Thin Mints, I still alter serve at church, and I'm still not allowed to have a lemonade stand/bake sale (seriously parents?); but some things do change. I'm involved in robotics, I have less friends, I'm both braver and more shy at the same time, I've learned to alter serve solo, something that never happened in Ohio (though it almost did twice). I'm no longer the pre-schooler who pointed at a bee without a word leaving my lips or drew ice cream nobody could identify and I wouldn't tell, but still I have a hard time chatting with people who aren't my close friends. I will never again be the girl who has a triple birthday celebration, back in second grade, I keep quiet about my birthday, and hope my teachers don't know when it is. I miss many things about Ohio, the massive fair, the green, Stonebridge, Handel's awesome ice cream (which is in  and Vegas, but not Michigan?), but now I have new things I love, CSMTech, robotics, babysitting. It's hard to say goodbye to your past, the people you grew up with, but looking to the future with hope is sometimes all you can and should do. Most change is for the best. I may never see Delaney, Hannah, Kate, Sarah, Emma, Brooke, Gabby, Lily, or Erin ever again, but they live in my memories and I will always treasure them. Most of my life has been lived in Ohio, but now I am made of mostly things I learned and found in Michigan.