Who I Think I Am by Teleya

Who I Think I Am by Teleya - October 2013 Scholarship Essay

My entire life I have lived in Kirkland; Houghton until I was 3 and the Kirkland highlands until I was 16. In my eyes Kirkland is my home and the only home I want to know. My mom fell in love with our house as soon as she saw it and realized the opportunity to be able to make something really special out of it. Over the course of 13 years, she was able to transform this old two story house into a beautiful, fun place for me to grow up. As I got older, it soon became the house where everyone would go to hangout or to meet up at. Everything about this house was perfect to me.
When I was in sixth grade my mom lost her cushy job working at Chase Bank. For years she told me that we would have to move but I was never too worried about it. My mom had always found a solution to our problems and I was confident that this situation would not be any different; I was wrong. We were able to skate by with minimum payments on the house for the next 4 ½ years, worrying every month that it would not be enough. Eventually we had to stop kidding ourselves and realize our life in that house was coming to an end. Moving boxes started showing up, furniture started disappearing, and all of a sudden I was whisked away to open house after open house, looking for one that could accommodate the two of us, plus our two cats.
Everyone was helpful during each aspect of the move, but that did not help the feeling of emptiness that was starting to creep in. This was my home! I did not want to imagine a stranger sleeping in my room or eating in my kitchen. Despite all the love and support I received from my friends I had never felt more alone. It seemed like every night in that house was my last. To make matters worse, the last possible day to stay in that house was the day before my birthday. Instead of being in the comfort of my own home, I would have to spend my 17th birthday sitting in a house two towns away.
Kenmore/Bothell/Juanita accurately describes where my house resides. I live smack dab in the middle of Inglemoor High school and Juanita High school, but I refused to change schools for my senior year. They could take away my house but there was no way I was going to school without my best friends by my side. My mom was extremely supportive of my choice, as was she with every choice I was making. One of the bright sides to our move was that my mom and I became closer than we have ever been. We were both losing a big chunk of our lives but at least we were going through the same emotions. We decided to look at the move with a sense of adventure and make it a good experience rather than a depressing one.
I have been living in the new house for six months now and I’ve come to absolutely love that house. It is much homier than my first house, due to the fact that it is smaller and just has a warm vibe about it. My neighborhood is full of friendly people who all seem to be dog lovers. My cats have come around to the new place too, claiming rooms as their own and exploring the streets at night. Seeing how happy we could all be in this house made me realize that life happens and to just go with the flow of it. More than anything though, I learned to make the most of any situation, no matter how bad it may seem in the beginning. Looking back, I realized how much I have grown throughout this experience; I started out feeling depressed and hopeless, and came out feeling better about myself than I ever have. I now feel that I have the knowledge to be able to overcome any challenge thrown my way.