Here and There
Packing up your life and belongings is a difficult task to do. My family lived in Apple Valley, MN, until the week before my 7th birthday. My parents told my younger brother and I that we were moving to Hastings, MN. I had no idea where that was as a child. I was excited about this new experience. I have always been interested in travelling. When we arrived in Hastings, it was nothing like my old town. I knew nobody, all I knew was that I lived in the middle of the woods. Moving to a different town isn’t just about the new house, it is also about making new friends at a new school, and living a different lifestyle.
At first, I was hesitant about moving into a new house. I was mostly happy about not having to share a room with my younger brother anymore. Sharing a room for 6 years was long enough for me. As a little girl, I was so glad that I got to paint and decorate my room whatever way I wanted. My family went from living in a small split floor house to a big four leveled house. The new house has twice the amount of space for my family. At first our house seemed...
Use Background Knowledge: I know leaving your home is hard because when I moved from my country I left everything behind my grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles etc.
Upon renovating the quaint little house on the hill with my mom, my own feelings toward the house changed dramatically. Before the project took off, I hesitated to step foot inside the building. The odor and dim lighting made it difficult to envision a successful result, but once we finished I was tempted to move in myself. This is the goal. Taking on this second project, I’d do my best to make the house one I’d love to live in while not allowing myself to implement my personal style preferences. The result is a home both move-in ready and open for visitors.
Since my father remained in Haiti while we made our home here in the states, by the time I was in my late teens I soon realized that I was the leader of my family. The apartment complex where we lived was increasingly becoming unsafe and it was very clear that I had to move us out of that environment into a safer one. I worked hard and saved up and when I was 23 years old I was fortunate enough to have my first major accomplishment by purchasing my own house where I moved in my mother, my 3 sisters, my younger brother, and occasionally my father. It made me feel good that I could provide a safer living environment for my entire family.
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.
Living in an apartment building it’s like you have to share with other people and you can’t keep any noise because the people next to you or downstairs can hear you. Also you can’t have a barbeque or a party because there is no space to have it. When you live in an apartment building this view is high because you are sitting on the balcony of the 10th floor. Living in a house the view is nice and it’s right there because you can just step outside whenever you want. You can decorate it and if your house is big enough you can have a get together or a party. When u step outside or look out your window you see all these beautiful houses and the pretty flowers that my mom planted. It’s kind of hard to explain the feeling when I stepped into this house; it was like stepping into a mansion. I was so happy and I enjoyed the house because it was such a perfect place to be for when it got warmer. My mom and I would just sit outside our porch whenever we felt like it and we would just sit and have a nice conversation, sometimes I would read a book or listen to music outside instead of being in the house all day. Living out here is a comfortable place to live and to be in because we feel like we didn’t have
I had been looking forward to moving out of the house for over four years,
For many years I would pass by the house and long to stop and look at it. One day I realized that the house was just that, a house. While it served as a physical reminder of my childhood, the actual memories and experiences I had growing up there were what mattered, and they would stay with me forever.
My parents purchased their first home when they got married and lived their until they had saved up enough to build a bigger home. We lived in my great grandparents house which was across the road from the house they were building for almost a year. Me and my family lived in our new home for ten years. This past summer my parents sold our house because they wanted to downsize since me and my brother are growing up and will not live with them much longer. We are currently renting a house while my parents work on the land where they will build a new smaller home.
Lastly, after I officially got adopted. I was use to this family and thought of them as my parents. I obviously missed my real mom and sometimes still do, my new parents were awesome and we went on a lot of vacations. We went to Disney world, Sea world, Washington dc and more. I enjoyed most of the trips and would enjoy Dc more now than then. When we started to get use to this home we ended up moving to Minnesota from Missouri. This was a very big weather change, which affected me a lot at first, but I adapted fast. I have now lived in Minnesota for the majority of my life and really enjoy it.
Moving far away from family and friends can be tough on a child at a young age. It has its pros and cons. One learns how to deal with moving away from the people they love and also learn how to deal with adjusting to new ways of life. Everything seems so different and at a young age one feels like they have just left the whole world behind them. That was an experience that changed my life as a person. It taught me how to deal with change and how to adjust. It developed me from a young boy into a mature young man.
So far in my life I have moved eight times and been to twelve different schools. I’m not talking about just moving houses. I’m talking about eight times, packing all of my things and moving to a whole different state. In all this I have learned the most important quality that anyone needs to get through all of the hardships and changes in moving. That quality is courage.
Everything seems like it’s falling out of place, it’s going too fast, and my mind is out of control. I think these thoughts as I lay on my new bed, in my new room, in this new house, in this new city, wondering how I got to this place. “My life was fine,” I say to myself, “I didn’t want to go.” Thinking back I wonder how my father felt as he came home to the house in Stockton, knowing his wife and kids left to San Diego to live a new life. Every time that thought comes to my mind, it feels as if I’m carrying a ten ton boulder around my heart; weighing me down with guilt. The thought is blocked out as I close my eyes, picturing my old room; I see the light brown walls again and the vacation pictures of the Florida and camping trip stapled to them. I can see the photo of me on the ice rink with my friends and the desk that I built with my own hands. I see my bed; it still has my checkered blue and green blanket on it! Across from the room stands my bulky gray television with its back facing the black curtain covered closet. My emotions run deep, sadness rages through my body with a wave of regret. As I open my eyes I see this new place in San Diego, one large black covered bed and a small wooden nightstand that sits next to a similar closet like in my old room. When I was told we would be moving to San Diego, I was silenced from the decision.
The feeling of security that was so pure. It became a reminder of a time when everything was simple and it was so easy to find happiness in the most unexpected ways. I remember considering myself lucky whenever my mother would indulge in my pleas to play the piano. Never would have I thought that listening to the notes of “Send In the Clowns” or a song from Forrest Gump could give me so much joy. Another fond memory was our parents allowing my siblings and I to play in the rain. Being given permission to do so was already a big thing for us. To be able to enjoy such a simple act is something I hold unto. This house is the symbol of my childhood innocence and a life unmarred by worries. This is the place where I 've felt contentment in its most basic
When reminiscing about my childhood a home is hard to recall. It seemed common for others to have a place called home. Moving from house to house was not the problem, but the empty feeling. Home to me was my grandparent’s house. I spent nearly all of my childhood there. My grandparents bought the one story house with two bedrooms in the early seventies. From the spacious bedroom, to the kitchen with endless possibilities and the way I spent my time this house defined my character.