Most people look at me with their jaw wide open and big eyes when I explain that I have moved schools every three years, and lived in not one, not two, but six different cities and two countries. Before you ask, no I am not a military brat.
I have moved all over the US and into Mexico all because my parents thought it would be good to start over. I have loved the experience though, and I cannot for the life of me understand how people live in the same house their entire life.
Don't get me wrong, living in one place your whole life definitely has its perks. You get to have that childhood best friend, you are not ripped away from every home you come to know and love every few years, and you have a sense of belonging- you are "from" somewhere.
Growing up I envied kids that had those perks. I hated being the new kid, and I hated having to jump into friend groups filled with girls that had moms who grew up together. It's hard, and girls are mean. I wouldn't change it though, not in a million years.
Moving so much has made me a stronger and more adaptable person. Coming to college was a lot easier for me than most people because of it.
When I got on campus I kind of just accepted Omaha as my new home, and I didn't really have a strong desire to go back to my "hometown" because it wasn't home. Home is wherever my family is and they came to visit me.
I have also had the amazing opportunity to meet new people everywhere I go. While I don't talk to about 90 percent of them, they have still impacted my life. The people I met in Virginia shaped the person I was in Arizona, and that helped shape the person I am today.
I spent my "childhood" in NOVA (northern Virginia). I lived there for about seven years, the longest time ever spent in a singular place, but still moved schools three times.
No I am not a problem child I just went to a private middle school from my public elementary school and then back to private high school. I think the most meaningful thing I learned while living there is that it is okay not to be perfect.
The east coast is filled with type A people, which I totally am, but it was so hard to keep up. My high school there actually had, I want to say, seven suicides in the last four years. That is significantly above the national average, and I blame that on the pressure cooker of DC.
While it is tragic, I am a better person, and am more aware of what pressure does to people. I have also been able to apply that knowledge to my life.
When I moved to Arizona my sophomore year, I took a step back and stopped being such an over achiever. High School was definitely not my favorite point in time, but I got to figure out who I was. I don't think I could have done that had I lived in a singular city for the entirety of my development.
I met my best friend in Arizona, literally the last place I thought I would ever live. My sister and I actually laughed because we thought my parents were joking when they said we were moving there.
Anyways, the moral of the story is that while you grew up in the same pink room for 18 years, I had about six different rooms, and I got to reinvent myself until I figured out who I am. I am still not there, but I know there are probably several more moves ahead of my in my lifetime so I will get there eventually.
I can make friends wherever I go, which is something my introverted self would not have been able to do had I stayed in St. Louis where I was born.
I have been gifted the same sense of wander and love of travel that my parents possess, which is something I cannot even imagine not having. There is so much out there to be explored and discovered.
When you look at me you are looking at eight different Emily's that have morphed and molded into the person I am today, and for that I am grateful to the restless nature of my parents.
