In the spring of 2012, I was informed that we were going to move. As a thirteen going on fourteen year old, the news was rather jarring. I was born and raised in that house, in that town, it was all I knew. We packed up our belongings and began the 678 mile journey to our new “home.” Moving from Hartland, Michigan to Durham, North Carolina was not only immense in distance, but in way of life.
My parents were trying (and failing) to calm my brother down, who was still crying uncontrollably, all sorts of feelings and emotions gushing out of him. Just moments ago, my dad had us sit down. I knew it was coming. It was the same way that he had us sit down for near-miss in the summer. “We’ve decided to go forward with moving to Kansas City.”
The summer after 2nd grade, my parents decided to move to Houston, Texas due to the lower cost of houses there compared to California. At the time, I was devastated, and I couldn’t imagine a life anywhere else. I grew further upset when I learned that my dad would be staying in California. My family was my happiness, my shell, I couldn’t be whole of one of us was missing. But the decision was made, my dad drove us to Texas, dropped us off, and took a plane back to California.
In 2008 I was living a fairy tale. I relocated from Indiana to Georgia. Within a year I had 5 credit cards and new home and car. I got engaged to my middle school sweetheart. We purchased our first house which my father prepared my for ever since I was 18 years old.
Pain is an evolutionary tool that discourages the body from causing harm to itself to survive, however athletes as well as myself view it as nothing but an obstacle for improvement. Goosebumps prickled from my skin over my whole body. Every other racers’ breath was visible in the air as they prepared for the big race. I was lacing up my Brooks Adrenalines already tattered and bruised from the long road behind them. I head out for my warmup run and stretches that would ensure my peak performance for the race ahead.
When I received the devastating news of saying goodbye to my “perfect” life it had a significant impact, but I have come to realize that not all life adjustments are destined to be ill-fated. Driving away from the High School Musical sing-alongs, neighborhood adventures, and spontaneous sleepovers with my best friends was truly heartbreaking but at the time I didn’t understand the upcoming possibilities moving would bring because I was so focused on
It happened September 22, 2011. It was during seventh period athletics. No one can ever plan for something like this and others never think of it. My life was changed that day, I didn’t know it then, but now that I do I wouldn’t change it for the world. My day started like any other: wake up, go to school, then go home.
At my high school there existed an elite group of athletes that was brave, foolish, and above all else a family. This is my distance running community. We suffered for four long years together, and made memories that forged us into a team. We were connected by not only the common struggle and love-hate relationship with our sport, but by a language that was used within our close-knit group, and shared common goals. I joined track when I was a freshman in high school, and spent my year learning to become a sprinter and long jumper.
On January 6, 2006, the police were called to my house in Cortlandt Manor, NY. My paranoid schizophrenic father was out of control and we were in danger. My mother, grandmother, sister and I needed to go. We moved 100 miles away to our Sag Harbor house. Life was, to say the least, distracting.
I have lived in four different states, seven different towns, and nine different houses. I have attended a number of different schools, and have had many friends and acquaintances throughout my life. Many people have never moved before in their life, or at least have lived in one town for their entire lives. Moving around so much might seem difficult for some, but ever since I was born I had been moving place to place, so I never had any trouble with it. Most of my childhood was spent in Washington, where I grew up with my parents and two older brothers.
I have found myself in a position of such excruciating pain; from the frequent headaches to the anxiety attacks, life is difficult to manage. My head throbs every few days under the burden of these aches, and it makes me unable to think properly. My eye sight is diminishing as the months go by and nearly everything is a vague blur. It also doesn't help that my right arm shakes, making even writing sometimes a challenge. Onsets of anxiety are mundane, for it has become something I rather expect to happen than to hope it has finally stopped.
Good morning there Mary! Sounds like a few changes going on there, I still remember some of the trying and lengthy phone calls. Makes you what to go yucko, but it will make time go by fasting. As for Health Advocate, haven’t heard back from them and looked on line for the job and it was no longer posted. So off to the old job search again.
“We’re moving to North Carolina!” Exclaimed my father with particularly excited face. My heart dropped. I thought to myself “Was I really going to be ripped away from everything I’ve ever known?” I felt a cocktail of sadness and anxiety swirling in my gut as I ran out the door onto the porch in an indignant manor.
Growing up, I never went through a divorce with my parents and for that I am grateful. However, my life has never been the “typical home” where mom and dad were happily married. In fact, I never had any of that. From before I was even born, my mother and father were separated. However, I do not know if I would have chosen to grow up any differently.
Courage is the ability to do something that may frighten you or be difficult to do even when there's risk. Having courage is being brave and being brave isn't the absence of fear, being brave is having that fear but finding another way through it. Here’s a true story that happened to me. Back in 2014 I walked home with my little sister(Jessica) from school. Both of my parents were not home and were currently at work.
