Personal Narrative: Moving To Washington From Indiana

When I was about four years old my dad was still working in the military. Then one late afternoon my dad calls a family meeting in the dining room then BOOM he tells us that he got a new job offer and that we’re moving virginia. I didn't really know what that meant cause I was 4 but my sister was devastated Because she had tons of friends at school and at home and she liked it. So we packed our bags and set out to virginia.

When I was nine years old my father went to prison. Since he was a single parent, I was forced to relocate to Washington State to live with my grandparents. Moving to Washington was one of the worst things that I thought could happen at the time, even though it ended up strengthening me as a person. I was forced to leave my friends, school, father and all of my other family members. I was taken from everything I knew and was left very confused and conflicted.

Me and my family decided to move to Oregon all the way from New England I decided to keep a journal for the adventure we have to pack before we leave though my 18 year old son Bernard told us to bring his xylophone and I Charles Marvin Ives wanted to bring an anvil in case I need to fix or make anything with metal or use our spare parts we brought even though I have no experience as a blacksmith because I'm a farmer. My wife Samantha Packed the bacon, salt, and whiskey and we all had to lift the water keg. I decided to bring my shovels and hammer and some salt for the bacon. We're bringing pots and other cooking utensils as well. My oldest son, Carl who's 20 years old thought it was a good idea to bring a plow. We will also need some firewood

It was a nice ordinary warm morning or so I thought. My mother had been thinking of moving for the past year, but she never really got around to it until that day when she told me and my younger sister at breakfast that we were moving to Idaho. I was very shocked and confused. It was only a few weeks ago that we went to visit Idaho to see if we liked the state. There were so many thoughts buzzing through my head such as what am I going to tell my friends and how much longer do I have to say goodbye to everyone before I never see them again. I also thought why Idaho, what was so special about the little potato state. I liked it in California. All my friends were here, this is where I grew up, and all our relatives lived here as well. Even though my family had moved around California many times before this move, Idaho was something new altogether.

I moved to Yankton, South Dakota when I was 6. I moved from Kearney, NE. I was really excited to move into a new house and a new town. Yankton is smaller than my old town it's also farther away from all of my family. For the most part I like yankton, most of the people are really nice. Since there is nothing to do in Yankton besides shopping around town in little stores, or going to a movie, or even going to dinner, or just driving around, my favorite thing is going to the lake and the bridge. There for my favorite part is definitely the lake. I love the trails and the beaches and everything down there. It's so peaceful and beautiful it's just a great place to get away. I like my school too, I mean sure it has its ups and downs but in reality

4,097 people. That was the population of Centralia Missouri in 2011. Moving had never been an issue for me, when your dad is in the military you get used to it. This time it was different than any other time. My parents were divorcing and my mom was forcing me to move to a town with only 4,097 people opposed to my home in Virginia with 225,401 people.

At the age of 27, I had an epiphany; For my entire adult life, I had not been truly living. After careful consideration of solutions, seemingly endless nights of research, and thorough preparation, my decision was to uproot myself and move from Virginia to Colorado. In the three years that I lived there I learned many things about myself and my surroundings. I discovered the most beautiful and amazing nature scenes and had some exciting adventures. The daily sunshine and glorious views always brought a smile to my face and lifted my spirits. If I ever woke up not feeling great, all I had to do was take a step outside. There, my energy levels soared as I hiked my days away and enjoyed peace in the mountains, at the parks, and by the lakes and

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.

Since I moved to Waukesha when I was just five years old, I have learned to appreciate and get involved in several ways around this city. Recently, however, I got accepted to my dream school; UW-Madison. I was ecstatic to finally have the opportunity to leave the town I had spent almost all of my life in and start a new chapter somewhere else.

The year was 1999 when we moved to Colorado from New Mexico. I was just a year old. My father recalls searching restlessly day and night to help support me and my mother. Coming to a new state was difficult; moving from basement to basement was their only option. Fortunately, a little after our arrival, my father found a job working construction and we were able to get a small apartment.Although small, it was still fulfilling in every way. Money was scarce at the time, as well as food. As he talks, he mentions a weekend night when he and I were spending some time together in the living room. I was a year old, and I was hungry. I decided to go to the kitchen and find some milk. When I made it to the kitchen, I opened the fridge. My father says,

I did not know anybody. The closest person that I knew was a six hour drive away, not even in the same state as me. The day that I moved to Texas was the day that I left my sense of security behind – everything I had ever known was taken from me, and having no say in this discouraged and frustrated me. Being part of an expat family accustomed me to moving, but this time it was different. The transition from living in Qatar to living in Texas physically and mentally exhausted me, but, with the right skills and resources, I was eventually able to overcome it.

I moved to Connecticut in the September of 2008 because my Dad had a job transfer. This was around the time that I started the second grade. I was introduced to so many people and they were all so nice to me. Six years later, I made countless friends and started to feel like Connecticut was where I wanted to stay forever. But in December of 2014, my Dad got a phone call from a company in South Jersey and they wanted him to work for them. At first, he worked 3 days in Camden, and the rest of the week in Connecticut. That was difficult though because we did not get to see him as often as we wanted to. My parents then sat my brother and I down and asked us if we wanted to move to South Jersey. I did not know what to think. After six years, I loved living in Connecticut and I wanted to stay there. They told us that it would be a lot easier to move down to Jersey instead of my dad traveling every week. My brother and I both agreed that this is what we are going to have to do. I can still remember that day though. It seemed liked the world was going to a scorching end. At least my world was. I started to tell my friends that

Moving from the South to the Midwest was a huge change in my life. For my whole life I grew up to the southern hospitality and the tang of salt in the air since the beach was always less than 5 minutes away wherever I lived. Now I moved to a place where they flip you off to say hi, and the closest thing to an ocean is a sea of grass that seems to go on forever. Although I am now adapted to the change for the most part, it took me awhile to break in to the social norms of an average Midwest kids.

“Honey pack your things” my mother told me while packing her things but not only clothes but stuff from the house which made me confused.

I stared blankly out the window, then to my family, then the box that sat right in front of me. “Aren’t you going to open your present?” Usually I’d tear into the paper and reveal the item that I longed for, but I honestly could care less what I got. This family Christmas celebration was a little different, and I really had to make it count. This was just days before we had to make our trek to the great state of Texas. Thoughts about the move raced through my mind, going from California to Texas would definitely be a big change.