Narrative Essay About Moving To My Family

Transitions. I have come to accept transitions as a part of life. When I was younger, I used to feel that the transitions I experienced were loss, but have come to appreciate and understand that transitions are opportunities for new growth and new beginnings. When I was five, my family moved from the Native Alaskan Indian Village of Eklutna, where I was initially raised. My Mother was a Community Health Representative for the Village and my Father performed as an activist, trying to defend the Village against the encroachment of modern industry. I remember being sad about leaving the Village and my friends, but hopeful to make more. We moved, however, to an even more rural setting that smothered, but not extinguished, my hope to make more friends.

My opportunities to make friends became limited, but the possibility of knowledge was expanded here in the Alaskan “boonies” where I experience farm life, rural living, and winter to their fullest extents. However, in the year 2000, our home burned down. Again, there was a sense of loss about our belongings, but we still had our family and together, we built a new home. In the year 2001, my little sister, Alyssa Windsong, passed away in a drowning accident. I was the one who found her and I will

always honor her. Her namesake, the wind, often embraces me with her memory leaving a feeling of loss, but also that of love and warmth. As was always the case, a new beginning came in 2002 when my family was blessed with the birth of my new little brother, who continues to be a source of encouragement and support.
I was eight years old when my Mother passed away in 2005.

It was another time of transition, as my Father chose to move what was left of our family to a small rural outer island in the Hawaiian chain. Once again, I found myself saying goodbye to my friends, to my home, and to the family situation I had known. On Molokai, however, I found a new home and a new life with a community I could never have imagined. There were many motherly Aunties and many new friends. My elementary school experience had a family-like feel, with small classes and many caring adults, leaving little to no room for the feelings of loss. The transition to middle school and eventually high school brought new friends and new

possibilities.
Now as a senior in high school I am faced yet again with a large transition; however, it's not the usual change a high schooler would be faced with. Recently, our family has expanded by two, when my dad brought his girlfriend and her son into our home. Their names are Sierra and Drake. Both of whom are very nice and I love dearly. But, having a new motherly figure brought into our home at such a late stage in my childhood is different, to say the least. And not only that, but Drake is mentally disabled and needs constant care.
From the day they moved in our lives were different. But knowing what I know about transitions, I face this change with an open mind. And when things get hard, I think back to when I moved here. Yes, there were hard parts, but there was also so much good that came from this change, just like with this situation. Some days are hard, but that doesn't mean all of them are. Some days are tiring, but that doesn't mean we can give up. But some days are great, and that’s why we keep trying, and why I look forward to transitions.