Imagine, if you will, a plant that is unceremoniously and violently uprooted from the ground and then tossed haphazardly aside; left with the expectation that it will again establish roots and flourish. There seems no better way to describe the process of moving, for akin to the extracted plant, I too experienced feelings of isolation, displacement, and confusion beginning in the summer prior to my junior year. This was the summer I moved from Fairfax Station, Virginia (just outside of Washington DC) to Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
It seems strange that even though my father had been in the Navy, and I had already moved numerous times before, this one move in particular affected me more than any of the others. Looking back, it was probably the most difficult thing that I have ever had to deal with and the period of adjustment that followed my relocation to Wilkesboro is the best as well as the worst time of my life.
I think that the hardest part of moving, for me at least, was actually facing the reality of it. During those first few months of summer in North Carolina it was relatively easy for me to pretend that I was simply on an extended vacation and that when school started again in the fall, I would return to my old life and things would go back to normal. Of course I knew that this was impossible, yet for some reason I still clung to the past. Then the first day of school came and it was with fear and considerable apprehension that I entered the doors of Wilkes Central High School. Everything seemed so foreign to me, yet it was my own fault that I felt as though I was on a different planet rather than simply in a different state. Over the summer I had been so preoccupied with my past life that I had neglected to start one here, so in those seemingly endless minutes before first period I stood entirely alone worried that I would never fit in. The rest of the day had passed in a whirlwind of new faces and names.
Somehow I made it through the first days of school and I hardly noticed when the days turned to weeks, and then the weeks to months. I was still hanging on to my old life, yet I had managed to begin building myself a new one in Wilkesboro. I met new people and made new friends, plus I got involved activities around town. I spent considerably less time thinking about what was happening in Fairfax Station and more time actually doing things in Wilkesboro.
Although I cannot pin point the exact moment when it dawned on me, it did become apparent that I was never going to be able to return to my previous life and simply pick it up where I had left off. I was able to see that my old friends had grown up and changed just as I had, and the truth is, if I were given the choice I would rather be where I am now. Don't get me wrong, I still keep in touch with a few of my closest friends from Va. and I do try to visit them once a year, but nothing ever truly remains the same.
Now instead of immediately picking up the phone when I have a problem or some exciting bit of news, I turn to the people who have been by my side for the past two years. I have been able to create a life for myself in Wilkesboro and even though it did take some time, I was able to establish roots and truly grow.
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