Moving to Asia when I was 15 years old, as an American, was one of the hardest challenges I have faced in my life. Growing up in Marin County, California, a beautiful suburban bubble with little to no diversity. I was forced to let go of the life, friendships, and future plans I had established but the saddest part was leaving my extended family. All to move to a new country, Singapore, a place 13,857 km away that I knew nothing of. To say I was anxious was an understatement. Having to restart my teenage life in an unfamiliar culture with people I don't know left me in an unstable place. The biggest challenge was first switching from an American public school to an American International private school then to a fully International private school, learning a total of 2 new and rigorous curriculums. …show more content…
I know that we had to move due to the financial situation my family was in and I had to make it work for the family. All of this was a-lot to process, I felt as if everyone was looking at me to indicate that we were ok, so I made the decision to show to my younger sister that we would be ok. The integration process took time and required me to adapt, change my way of thinking and put myself out there if I were to have a nice time in Singapore and form new relationships. Singapore is a very transitional environment, meaning most families don't plan on staying long and tend to travel often. I was never used to people walking in and out of my life like this and emotionally it was challenging. Although I eventually adapted to the environment, made new friends, kept an open mind to learn about the culture, created roots, and developed patterns that enabled me to