Alicia, having a great day with friends at West Rowan High School.
Alicia’s Guest Blog
I met Alicia Hartley a few months ago when she moved from Hiddenite to Mt Ulla, NC. After talking with her, I soon learned she was nervous about leaving Alexander Central High and starting her junior year at West Rowan. When she expressed an interest in creative writing and a desire to be an author someday, I suggested she write a guest blog about moving. Excited about the opportunity, in her first blog she shared about missing her friends and French teacher. She also shared that she had been looking forward to a class trip to France, but would miss it because of the move. Now that she’s had time to adjust, I hope, like me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much she likes her new home and West Rowan.
My friends are great and I still get to see them very often. I went out for dinner with them last night and even as I’m typing this we’re working out a way to hang out later today. They haven’t forgotten me- which was one of my major concerns with moving. The internet is a beautiful thing and it allows me to keep in contact with them daily. I’ve even made a few new friends. I sit at a table in psychology, which is my favorite class by far, with two really nice and funny girls. There’s a kid in my math and American History class that watches and reads most of the stuff I do, and more as well. My lunch block overlaps with that of my friends, so we talk to each other then, too. The school doesn’t have French and I was too late to take it online, but I can keep practicing with various websites, and my friends, who I convinced to take French, practice with me frequently. I was also too late for the college course, but it will be available to me next year. I’m also getting into better shape. The school decided to put me into a workout class to make up for the holes in my schedule for what I couldn’t take. It was scary at first because I didn’t know the first thing about lifting weights or working out in general, but it’s not that bad, and it’s good for me. I probably need the exercise, I’m a bit of a couch potato. I’ve also found some excellent opportunities for little peeks into the world of being an author. You see, I want to be a novelist when I’m older. My landlady is an amazing woman who writes children’s books. Another little fact, this is her blog. I’ve given her feedback on some things and now I’m doing this, making a guest blog entry. I never in a million years would have dreamed that I’d have this opportunity at sixteen. This will look spectacular when I have to fill out college applications, and when I go to pitch an idea for a book to publishers, having a published author in my credentials will up my chances significantly.
So yeah. I live farther away from my sister, and I don’t see my friends as often. I’m not going to France, and I have to wait to take higher levels of French. But I made new friends. I explored a few things and broadened my horizons. Who’s to say I can’t go to France on my own one day? I have opportunities to explore the author world before I dedicate my life to it. I’m healthier. My room is cooler. I own more books. I write more. My teachers are really nice. I have more opportunities and things that I can do with my writing here. I live closer to places with things that I can do. I would say that I like my new school, (West Rowan High School). I certainly don’t dislike it. Life is about experience, and I’m experiencing a lot more things here than I ever would have been able to in Alexander County. Moving is hard, that much is true, but it doesn’t have to be bad.
While moving to a new community and school can be difficult, especially for teens, as we can see with Alicia it can be rewarding. Not only did she make new friends, but she tapped into interests she hadn’t explored before. Someday when Alicia’s a famous writer I hope she’ll look back and remember this time in her life with a smile. If you’d like to read the first part of Alicia’s blog, click here.
What has been your experience with moving? Leave a comment below, message on Facebook or email dicysm@yahoo.com.
Thanks,
Dicy
www.dicymcculloughbooks.com/blog
