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Ava

Keene High School, New Hampshire

Moving is hard, harder than it seems, and It all started when I was about six years old. My family was just falling apart. My mom and dad were never getting along, and they just seemed to not love each other anymore. At that time I was scared. Everything seemed so unorganized and just didn’t feel right. Thankfully, both of my parents would not let me miss out on the time spent with my other parents, so I had a little less worry. Creating a plan and a set schedule was so hard knowing my mom is going to live an hour away, and it would be so stressful to figure out how to get to school. With reassurance and support by my side, it made all the weight on my shoulders fall off.

At this time I was going to school in my hometown, and I had a split schedule where I was at my Dad’s house Sunday through Wednesday and my Mom’s house Wednesday through Sunday. Getting up super early and having to ride an hour to get to school got very tiring, but I did it until I was in third grade. Back and forth, back and forth. My mom had a husband that would help her with my siblings while she was dropping me off at school one hour away. Trying to persevere through all these hardships taught me a huge lesson. Never give up and push towards your goals.

In third grade I started my move to live with my mom full-time. My dad was starting to work more hours and farther away, which made it more difficult for everyone. My father and I were inseparable and not seeing him often was going to be hard. It made me learn that when I am spending time with someone I love, cherish the moments.

Around the same time, my mom moved us to a small town even further from my dad. I enrolled at a tiny school with only two rooms with grades one through four. It was a small community, and I felt so welcomed which made this switch easy. This was when I realized life is what you make it, you can't be scared of new and better things if you haven’t even put yourself in the situation.

This was starting to work out, seeing my dad on the weekends and spending the week with my mom. I was content, and I didn’t have as much stress on my shoulders with this new house and new start, but I knew this wasn’t a forever home especially hearing the small talk of moving again. Sure enough there we were moving AGAIN! I was having to go to another school. I was worried and overthinking about this new school and being the “new kid” all over again. We moved into this new house, and it was another beginning. I started at my new school, and I felt like the odd one out, but it didn’t take long for me to open up and begin to talk to new people. Now that I was getting older, not seeing my dad everyday was hard. Perseverance came in handy, and I found ways around not seeing him to still keep close contact and a close bond with him.

© Ava. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.

    Tags:

  • Family
  • Education
  • Migration
  • Friendship and Kindness
  • Community