Struggle. My life. My life itself has been a struggle, and for a long time now I’ve been able to hide it. From the outside everything looks fine, and I seem to have perfect life. I don’t. No one does. There was a time not too long ago when I got some shocking news. I was sitting on the living room floor of our house. It wasn’t the best house to be honest, but it was our house and I was pretty content with it. I’d just gotten a Naruto Game for the play station so I was pretty much plowing through level after level. I was in the living room. My mom came in and told me that my dad’s job was in Detroit so he was relocating to get closer. I didn’t register it at first so my response was, “Oh cool so what we go to see him on weekends or something?”

That wasn’t the case at all, we were all moving to Detroit in order for us all to stay together like a family. I was beyond pissed, I’d lived in Flint my entire life and everything I knew was there, I had friends, kept above average grades, and could get anywhere from anywhere. It was my city I was used to it and it was used to me. I could stroll down the streets and say that I remember when that store wasn’t there. I was upset, I fell into a sort of depression, I didn’t eat, I ignored people, and I even stopped talking to my friends. There was no point was my reasoning I wouldn’t see them ever again.

The car ride down there was probably the longest I’ve ever experienced. Not because of time however, because of what it meant. It meant I was really leaving all I knew behind me only to go forward into unknown territory. Talking. That’s what my mom was doing. She’s trying to keep up everyone’s morale. It doesn’t work. I felt betrayed by my mom, why did I have to go? I was doing great my life wasn’t perfect but it was pretty damn close. For the first few months I rarely came out of my room and school was like walking blindly in a field. I had no sense of direction nor did I really want to, I didn’t want new friends I wanted to go back to where I knew everyone and everyone knew me.

After almost a year of being in Detroit almost nothing had changed with me except maybe I was even more depressed than usual. The move had shattered me into a million tiny pieces of glass a beautiful vase reduced to nothing. I tried to put myself together again, but I only get cut worst than before and I eventually end up leaving it alone. My turning point came when I first came to my current school by this time I was labeled as the “bad” kid I did what I wanted when I wanted and no one could tell me otherwise. This attitude got me nowhere, but I started to meet people that wanted to get to know me. For the first time since the move I had people that wanted to be my friend. I opened up for the first time since I moved to this city. I gained friends easily as if I never had experienced any sort of disconnect from reality. I was cool to hang around again and this helped me look at what this move did well.

My family was together and we had more money of course. My mom was happy, my little, brothers, and sisters, were happy. Everyone felt this was a better move, I suppose they had a brighter outlook on things than I had. It was hard, but when I finally adjusted to the move I recognized I could grow to like this city. Although I still miss my hometown of Flint I can see something more in my future. Everything new isn’t bad just give it some time and you may come to appreciate it.