To most people, moving to a whole new time is a nightmare. You have to leave everything you are familiar with behind and eventually you begin to miss the little things you never thought you would. The smell of dew right after it rains, the yapping of the dog next door, even the long walks that it would take to get anywhere in the neighborhood.
A lot of people can relate to that feeling. I'm definitely one of those people! I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, a small town about twenty minutes away from Washington DC. Even though the town has a fairly large population - around seventy thousand people - I lived in a neighborhood called Chestnut Ridge, with a population of about one thousand seven hundred people.
I naturally became one with nature, and it makes a lot of sense, considering my backyard was part of a forest. I would always be climbing trees, watching deer and rabbits frolic around, or just sit in the lawn of grass and play with my stuffed animals. Being outside was always very peaceful for me, even at a young age.
When I was ten years old, my mother old me that I was moving to New York City. To say I was shocked was an understatement. New York City is a concrete jungle - the closest place to nature is Central Park. I couldn't imagine leaving behind all of my friends and not be able to go to middle school with the people I grew up with. Not only that but I was leaving behind family members as well. I was so determined to stay that I tried to explain why Maryland would be a better place to live, but it was done - we were moving, whether I liked it or not.
During the five hour drive to New York, I was constantly trying to think of brightly of the situation. The last days in Maryland were spent packing in a storage facility and also connecting with family and friends as much as we could, It was heartbreaking for me to know that I wouldn't see these people as often as I used to. To keep my mind off of how much I'd miss my hometown, I tried to cheer myself up by hoping that middle school would be great, that I would adjust well to city life.
All my wishful thinking didn't come to fruition unfortunately. New York was totally different and new. As soon as I saw the lights of Times Square, and all of the people walking quickly on Park Avenue, I instantly knew that everything was fast-paced. I remembering wondering where all of the trees and fields were, and how all of the streets sort of looked the same. I liked my new house, but missed the close relationship I used to have with my next door neighbors. Middle school was also hard for me because the curriculum was different and more advanced, so I struggled trying to juggle adjusting to each new aspect of my life.
After the new year, my mother told me that we were going to be moving again - to Los Angeles! I wasn't that surprised since my mother had often talked about moving to this city even when I was still living in Maryland. I just figured it would happen when my mother retired and what not. Now I was excited to move to the place where all of my favorite celebrities lived and where it would be nice
and warm. I knew that California was full of nature so I was psyched to be able to hopefully live around parks. I'd never been more excited in my life.
Although I'd been through a lot of hardships in New York, in hindsight, I'm very happy that I got to learn how to accept and adapt to change. I now believe that if you can accept changes in life and just work with them, you will be happier and everything will pay off. I finally moved to Los Angeles, and I've never felt more welcome and like I belong in a city. It just comes to show that good things really do come to those who wait.
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