Six years ago, I would have told you that the move from ¨Little Ole Bear, Delaware¨ to ¨The Grand City of Naperville, Illinois¨ was going to the worst thing to ever happen in my life. But now, I would have to tell you that the move was truly a blessing. I spent the first twelve years of my life in a small town in Delaware, where I imagined I would always stay. Life in Delaware was not perfect but it was ideal for our family. Growing up in that small town made me accustomed to consistency, secureness, and a reliance on close family and friends. Whether it was because of my age or not, I never realized how blessed I was to have grown up in Bear, Delaware. That was until my dad accepted a promotion in the Midwest the winter of sixth grade. The idea of change shocked me, as it would for any other twelve year old unaware that people move from where they are from. Naperville, Illinois I was told would be our new hometown. Terrified would be an understatement of the whirlwind of emotions that occurred within the month of packing my bedroom and the memories of my entire childhood, saying goodbye to family and dearest friends, the long hauling 14 hour trip with a car packed to the ceiling, situating in …show more content…
Although, I was presented with numerous challenges, each one ended up being a valuable lesson in shaping me into who I am today. Over the past six years in Naperville, I have grown to respect how a large suburb can affect a person. Naperville has made me resilient to everyday challenges, indulged me in endless opportunities (from working at a local food pantry, being a member of a 3,500 plus student body of a Blue Ribbon High School- recognized nationally for its academic achievements, to flying on a private jet for a friend's sweet sixteen party), become more outgoing, appreciate a rich diversity of individuals and cultures, and no longer apprehensive to
Imagine your first home. The place where you lived right after you were born. Where you took
Most people who grow up in Cincinnati cant wait to get out, but once they leave they can’t wait to come back because there is no other place like it. It has the small town “homey” feeling everybody grows to love, along with big city options that are easily accessible. Nobody ever wants to come to Cincinnati, but once they do, they realize how special it is, regardless of the territory. Its unique structure comes as surprise, yet, joyous experience and that’s what makes it special. East or West, North or South Who-Dey baby!
As a child, I moved around most of my childhood. From the violent city of Compton, California to the upper middle class of Los Angeles, California, Then later to Elk City, Oklahoma.
Many folks go their whole lives without having to move. For them it is easy; they know the same people, have loads of friends, and never have to move away from their families. As with me, I was in a different situation. I grew up my entire life, all eighteen years of it, in a small town called Yorktown, Virginia. In my attempt to reach out for a better life style, my girlfriend and I decided we were going to move to Shreveport, Louisiana. Through this course of action, I realized that not two places in this country are exactly alike. I struggled with things at first, but I found some comforts of home here as well.
The day I moved away, a lot of things were going through my young mind. As I took my last look at my home, I remembered all the fun times I had with my family and friends through out my life. Now I was moving 800 miles away from all of that with no insight on what lied ahead for me. As my family and I drove away from our Michigan home, I looked out the window wondering what Virginia would be, and what my friends were doing. A lot of things were going through my mind at the time. At the time my main worry was if I would make any friends, and how I would adjust to everything. During the whole drive down, my mother would often let me know that everything would be all right and I would like it. Trying to be strong and hold back my tears, I just shook my head no, wondering why we had to move so far away. Life would be different for me and I knew it would.
Where a person grows up can have a great effect on themselves, and people around them. Someone's hometown or where they grew up may sometimes motivate them to get away from it; going someplace better. A memoir by Debra Marquart released in 2006, exemplifies the opinion that if someone wants to reach the top they must suffer prior to making it. Practically anyone who lives in a place that is secluded or not known would agree that they would like to work their way out of there. Marquart’s characterization of the Midwest is strongly subjective, she recognizes it as dreadful; addressing those who did not grow up in these areas, but in the city.
I drove through the red lights of the only "big" town around, Kingston. Kingston is known for their pool halls, food, and music. There was only 3 red lights in the whole town. I drove past the feed store and merged into the lane to turn to go towards, Plum Grove. It sounds like a fancy estate, but actually it is my hometown.
To begin, moving to Virginia impacted my life in so many ways. The reason I moved is because my mom got remarried. I am so thankful that she did. It gave me the opportunity to go to this amazing school. I’ve made so many friends that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I also started going to this undescribable church and I have been truly blessed by this church and my church family.
It was a beautiful, sunny day in South Florida. I was six years old, playing by the pool with my new puppy. I loved swimming in the pool almost every day after school. I also enjoyed going out on our boat after school or crossing the street and going to the beach. My father came home one evening with some interesting news. Now, I do not remember exactly how I felt about the news at that time, but it seemed like I did not mind that much. He had announced that we were going to move back to my birth country, Belgium. I had been living in Florida for five years and it was basically all I had known so I did not know what to expect. I had to live with my mom at first, and then my sister would join us after she graduated high school and my father finished settling things. I remember most of my earlier childhood by watching some old videos of me playing by the pool and dancing in the living room. It seemed like life could not get any better. However, I was excited and impatient to experience a new lifestyle. I realized that I could start a whole new life, make new friends and learn a new language. Belgium was not as sunny as South Florida but it has much better food and family oriented activities. Geographic mobility can have many positive effects on younger children, such as learning new languages, being more outgoing, and more family oriented; therefore, parents should not be afraid to move around and experience new cultures.
Every young adult comes to a point when he/she has to make a couple tough decisions that will go into helping shape their lives. Some of those decisions are whether or not to move out of our parents’ home and most importantly where to move to. Even though moving out can be an anxiety filled, frustrating, and time-consuming event, it is well worth the effort because it evokes responsible thinking, allows one to make life altering decisions and provided a sense of accomplishment. When it was time for me to make that decision, balancing pros and cons of all possible outcomes made the decision to move back to my hometown of Charleston, South Carolina an easy one.
I was born in Evanston and raised in two cities that go by Rogers Park and Waukegan. These three cities both are in the wonderful state of Illinois. I don't come from much from our first apartment that only had 1 bedroom and five people shared that room. I remember staying in does dark chocolate boxes, waiting for dad to come from his minimum wage job. As my mom was working with the all those spicy flavored, the whole apartment was turned converting into my ancestors old village. Just like in Rogers park, my life would be a quite unexpected. In the early 2000s ,I was a crazy whopper snapper but little did I know this would make an impact in my life. As the summer air and the dandelion field, scented the whole area , I would minutes later be rushed to the hospital. Momma had to go and clean her tan face , mom always cared about her physical appearance, and as the pot was cooling , I rushed to play by the table just to have a pot of volcanic noodles pour all over me and splash goes the pot. Momma came running to the room and put me in the arctic cold water. Wow! Momma was my hero
Feelings of being trapped in a same environment permeated my mind in a different way so I decided to move the states in 2012. I started as a sophomore in High school in Piney Woods School. The Piney Woods is
My parents and I lived in the over-populated city of Chicago when I was born. My father wanted to relocate in a place that was not over populated. So with this in his mind, we moved in the south direction to Kansas. He got what he wanted in the terms of a smaller population setting. But he was still dissatisfied with the cold weather. The disappointing business experience and cold weather was a push factor to move on and find a better place to live. After Kansas we moved to Ohio because were persuaded by some relatives that we knew that lived there, but again he was not successful with business there either. In search for a better occupation, my father would look in the classified section of the newspaper every afternoon in search of eye-catching businesses.
Moving to a new city opened up many things for me but it also took away some too. I will always regret not being there with grandma when she passed but it’s made me appreciate my family so much more. Moving also helped me open up my shell and realize that I don’t have to be shy, that I need to enjoy life and meet new friends and make new memories and lastly, to never let an opportunity pass me by and to always take what life throws at you and enjoy it. Carpe Diem, Seize The
Growing up, I have heard about people uprooting and making drastic changes in their lives. I never imagined it would be something I would find myself doing at some point in my own life. It is not like me to put myself in a situation that takes me out of my comfort zone, and not just away from family and friends, but a climate that is predictable for me as well. However, for the sake of getting to know my birth family after discovering where they lived, I have been doing what I can to adjust to my new life with my husband and daughter. I deal with missing the family and friends I left behind along with learning how to cope with humidity in the summer, below freezing winters, and pollen filled springs. New Jersey is culturally different to me as well, and even after eight years, I am still struggling with figuring where I fit in as a Jersey Girl.