Leaving the doors of my sixth period on the last day of junior year, I felt like weight was lifted off my shoulders. I had a summer of relaxation ahead of me and a detailed plan for senior year; I was going to take the classes I wanted, participate in the extracurriculars I liked, finish my college applications and graduate with my friends by that time the following year.  

This harmony lasted for nearly three weeks into the summer.  

Just like the noise a record player makes when someone pulls the needle, everything in my world screeched to a halt the minute my parents told me the news. 

When I heard the words, “We are moving to Arizona,” I was frozen in place. As a child, my family moved consistently, I struggled to keep friendships or connections. Living in Washington from the ages of 11 to 17 however, I managed to develop a friend group of loving, decent people, establish connections with incredible teachers and staff and grow into my passions, such as journalism, with the opportunities presented to me by my community. The news that all of this would be taken from me hit hard. Additionally, I was already grieving the loss of one of my beloved childhood friends- a nine-year-old Boxer named Ava.  

I spent the last month of my summer praying I wouldn’t have to actually move to Arizona, as if it was a sick dream. I knew the reality though. By mid-August I would be on my way, starting at a new school and leaving behind the place I developed as home. I struggled to believe my life was happening with me involved in it. I felt frozen in Washington, on the last day of junior year with my detailed plan, while my family was content moving to Arizona and my friends would keep their senior year plans as they hoped.  

Arriving in Arizona, I was miserable to be around. In short, I wasn’t happy. I didn’t have friends; I was experiencing a loss of self-identity and I could not quite grasp that my plan had been disrupted so easily by the actions of others.  

I tried to be kind to others and develop connections similar to the ones I had in Washington, but unfortunately, the only person I could talk to as myself was the school registrar about my schedule as it was continually changing to meet graduation requirements. While Washington requires 24 credits to graduate, Arizona only requires 22. As fortunate as this sounds, the required classes are drastically different. I arrived at my place of residence daily feeling burnt-out, hurt and exasperated.  

The time I spent in Arizona was the lowest point of my life. Fortunately, I had one thing to look forward to: visiting Washington. We had left the majority of our belongings at home and had to visit and retrieve them after about a month and a half of living in Arizona.  

On the second day of our Washington visit, I was called into my mom’s room. I think halfway through our conversation I blacked out, because all I remember from this talk was her telling me we can stay in Washington and I can graduate with my friends, continue the plan I worked so hard at to get.  

Though my plan was not immediately set back on track to what I had hoped for and I have had a series of ups and downs the past two months I have returned, I am ultimately happier in this position and have learned the important lesson to embrace change and how to cope with struggles I cannot change.