Sarah P

Moving to Roanoke

 

            When I was in eight, my family moved from Wisconsin to Virginia. My mom got a job offer at her alma mater, Roanoke College. My parents thought it would be a better experience for us as a family to live in Roanoke. I remember the words coming out of my mother’s mouth, “We have decided to move to Virginia.”

“Why?” I asked

“Because I was offered a better job in Roanoke.”

My sister was devastated but because I was so young, I did not mind leaving, in fact, I wanted to go. As I look back on that experience now, I believe that I would have been a completely different person if we did not move. I have had more opportunities and better relationships with people here in Roanoke than I think I would have had in Wisconsin.

I remember driving across the border of Virginia. It was fall and the trees were changing colors. I thought it was beautiful! I had never seen mountains up close and I had certainly never driven through them. It took a little getting used to; those Sunday drives in the mountains did make me car sick at first! I look back when we drove into Roanoke and I still see the huge rainbow in the sky! I said to my mom, “That is a sign that we should be here!”

 My sister and I were jamming out to the High School Musical Soundtrack- we were eight and ten years old. After we got settled into our new house, I remember my mom saying, “What if I made the wrong decision?”

My dad and I- we were the ones that wanted to move- said, “We like it better here!”

Even my sister eventually said that she was happy that we moved here!

            If I did not move here, I do not think I would have started to pay soccer because it is very popular here, but no one that I knew of in Wisconsin played. Soccer is my passion and I would say it takes up a majority of my life next to school, family, and friends. I am almost positive that if I still lived in Wisconsin I would not be playing soccer, and because it is a big part of me, I know I would not be the same person that I am now.

            If we did not move, I would not have met the amazing friends that are in my life now. The people that are in my life now are such a positive influence and are the type of friends that I know I will keep. When I lived in Wisconsin I did not have really close friends, but I do now. When I first moved here, I had trouble fitting in because I was the new girl, but I have found friends in Roanoke that I will have forever. My old friends have made different choices than I have, and if I was still in Wisconsin, I think I would have made the same choices as them.

I also think I have received a better education in Roanoke than I would have in Wisconsin. From what I remember of my old school, the teachers and classes were more relaxed and not as fast paced as the ones in Roanoke. My old friends do not consider school a priority and their schools do not challenge them like the ones in Roanoke do. When I first moved here, it took a while for me to get used to how the classes worked and I remember myself always trying to catch up to the rest of my class. I can still hear my third grade teacher in Roanoke pulling me aside and saying, “Sarah, I know it is a change, but you need to try harder in this school!”

I have only been to two schools in Roanoke, but they both challenge me to learn and work hard. Although school is sometimes frustrating with the amount of work that goes into it, I know I will later appreciate the education that I am receiving here in Roanoke, unlike the “easy” education in Wisconsin.

            All of these factors contribute to the person that I am and who I am becoming. At the time, it seemed like just a move, but if I look at the type of person I would be if I stayed in Wisconsin, I have realized that it has changed who I am. My life in Wisconsin would not have been bad at all, but it would be nothing like my life in Roanoke. If I was still living in Wisconsin, I would not be playing soccer, I would not have the close friendships that I have now, and I would not have the education that I have now, in Roanoke. Although I still have many flaws, I am happy with the person that I have become in Roanoke compared to the person I could have become in Wisconsin. The move from Wisconsin to Virginia was a huge milestone in my life, and I am happy that we made that change!