Personal Narrative: From Moving To Home

In the heat of summer 2011, I moved from small town Statesboro, Georgia to Columbia, South Carolina. I was only six at the time, so I hadn’t really thought much about moving to a new house, new school, or even a whole other state. In actual fact, I was mostly enthusiastic about moving. This was a both positive and negative experience for my whole family. This was the year my whole life changed.

In the essays “Homeplace” by Scott Russell Sanders and “I Must Be Going” by Richard Ford, the authors discuss their very different viewpoints on whether people should move around or stay put in one home. In “Homeplace,” Sanders argues against moving with a didactic and self-righteous tone that aims to put his philosophy of staying put above any other. However, in “I Must Be Going,” Ford approaches the topic differently, explaining his own reasons for moving from home to home. Although he is defensive in reaction to others criticizing his choices to move, he does not put his method of living above that of others, but simply seeks to justify it. Although the two authors discuss the same topic in their essays and both

Leaving my home in Hawaii and moving to Oregon was one of the hardest things for me to do. Maybe I would have felt better about it if my parents had asked me for my opinion before picking up our lives and moving to some place I had never even heard of before. I know I shouldn’t have cared that much. After all, I was only a 1st grader and even now my parents don’t consider how I’d feel before making decisions, so why would they then? At the end of 2007, I said goodbye to my best friends for the last time and left for Oregon.

On October 5, 2010, my mom made the permanent decision to move to Iowa from Indiana. I was very nervous. I knew I had to switch schools, I had spent three years at that school getting to know everyone and getting used to the school, but now it was time to leave not only the school but also the state. While on the road, I couldn’t concentrate. We’ve been to Iowa numerous times so I knew the drive quite well. I ended up going to sleep by worrying myself so much.

For many Americans, geographical moves are a normal expectation of life. “Thirty-five million Americans had a geographic move between 2010 and 2011, that is, 10.6% of the population” (Milligan et al.). Whether moving for a job or for college, moving can either be a wonderful fresh step in a person’s life or a frightening, stressful experience. As moves approach, people often focus on the positive aspects of moving which blinds them of the possible problems that can come along with it, especially in families with children. Moving has negative effects on children because they encounter social hardships, they struggle with education and they can develop mental health issues.

The relocation and displacement of individuals not only effects those that must leave the area, but can in turn affect the community at large. The sudden or gradual loss of community members due to relocation can often be felt in social institutions and this threatens the social climate of the community living within the area as well as potentially compromising the unique features of the community as an influx of newcomers enter the area. Those who choose to remain in the area also face the added strain of increasing rent costs which not only affects families and their residences but also affects businesses and other amenities. (Edson,

It was June of 2013 and I was in my room cooling, watching “Good Luck Charlie”. My mom came into my room saying that she was ready to move out of New York. Obviously I did not want to move out of the city I was born in. My mom never liked living in New York, so she always thought about moving. So the plan was to move in August. Time went by and I was thinking about what North Carolina would be like. I really wasn’t thinking about the friends I was leaving in Brooklyn, that never crossed my mind.

“Where are we going?” She then looked at me and said, “We’re moving to Texas.” Out of all places, Texas? We lived in southern California our whole lives, so moving to Texas was definitely a shock to me. “What about our family and friends?” Her eyes began to water, so I knew talking about it further would only make things worse. Texas. It was stuck in my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The more I thought of it, the worse it sounded. The worst part was that it was so sudden, so it didn’t seem real. Because my parents are divorced, I spent the weekends at my dad’s house. He was torn that I was leaving Riverside, which of course meant that weekend visits would turn

So when I was told by my parents that we were moving again, I was not ecstatic about it. I was genuinely upset, and I pleaded to my parents every day to change their decision of moving to the United States. I was in denial, I didn’t want to be in Miami.

One year ago, my parents shattered my heart by breaking the news that we were going to be moving to Michigan. At first, I thought that this was just a joke and I didn’t believe them, until I realized that they were serious. Once the harsh reality started settling in, questions immediately began popping into my head as tears streamed

I’d lived in Florida my entire life up until I was nine years old, so moving to a new state was a big change for me. In fact, moving to Ohio was the biggest change in my life so far. It was because of my grandparents’ visit that mom realized living in Florida isolated us from the rest of our family. For this reason, my parents came to the conclusion that we should move to Ohio. I didn’t want to go at first, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

I was on a vacation in Santorini,Greece when my dad told us that we had to move to Alaska in 5 months. Now when he told us I'm not gonna lie I did think "why would I wanna leave Europe to go live in that far state that shouldn't even be a state Alaska". So when we got back to Ansbach, Germany I told the friends I talked to that we have to move Alaska and they all laughed and thought I was just joking around with them. So I waited until they took me serious then we discussed about the move we all thought the same thing about Alaska and I knew for sure I wasn't gonna go. I tried everything in my power to stay in Germany my friends and I had five months to gather up a plan on how I could stay there and not have to leave

She moved a lot as a kid. Although she never felt bad about moving, in fifth grade, it was

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.

For many Americans, geographical moves are a normal expectation of life. “Thirty-five million Americans had a geographic move between 2010 and 2011, that is, 10.6% of the population” (Milligan et al.). Whether moving for a job or for college, moving can either be a wonderful fresh step in a person’s life or a frightening, stressful experience. As moves approach, people often focus on the positive aspects of moving which blinds them of the possible problems that can come along with it, especially in families with children. Moving has negative effects on children because they encounter social hardships, they can develop mental health issues, and they struggle with education.