2023/Olivia-23677

Olivia Domenech

Mrs. Sullivan A3

4/7/23

Realizing you’re different isn’t always a bad thing

“Life is a bus ride, with only so many seats.” -Dodie Clark. This was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn during my first year of school in Iwakuni Japan. When I first moved to Iwakuni I was super excited. It was my first time moving overseas and I was ready for an adventure. I remember begging my parents to sign me up for school the minute we got here, and my first day was amazing! I made tons of new friends quickly. I had no idea how much I would come to regret making such close friends. On the last day of school I bawled my eyes out saying goodbye to my friends. They were all moving over the summer. That never happened back at my old school, and when I told my old friends about it they didn’t understand, I remember that night I went home and cried and at that moment I realized how different being a military kid made me from other kids.

I think as a kid it’s hard to understand that some people in your life have to leave eventually, even best friends leave at some point. Realizing that I was different hurt, and it hit me like a truck, but after the initial shock faded away I was okay. I just had to tell myself this was normal here, even though my whole life had taught me otherwise. I’m in 8th grade now, nearing the end of my last year in middle school, and I’ve made such amazing friends this year that I know it’s going to be hard to say goodbye. What I have to remind myself of is even though it hurts I know they wouldn’t be able to stay forever anyway, because like Dodie Clark once said “Life is a bus ride, with only so many seats.” So in the end, making friends is important, but losing them is just as important. Don’t be ashamed or afraid of being different because you’re a military kid, be proud!