On My Own

I never thought I would be the one in my family to live alone in a separate state by myself. I know this is an odd topic but I am quickly running out of things to talk about.
It all started here at UNCW at the start of my freshman year. My family and I had moved from California to Cary right before my junior year in high school started. Then I came to Wilmington for school and no more than a month after, my parents split up and my mother, younger sister and younger brother moved to Georgia where my grandparents are located. My father I think still lives here in North Carolina, but I have heard from since the move.
It was not nervous or worried at all when my mother broke the news to me. In a way I was somewhat excited. I know it sounds awful- to be excited for your family to move away. It is not that I wanted to get rid of them of anything, I was just anxious to experience what it was going to be like being truly independent. I’ve always for the most part, kept to myself so I did not think that this would be a big deal. Georgia is only six hours away.
So I moved in with my best friend and her mother who lived in Morrisville (about 5 or 10 minutes away from our home in Cary). I have been there many weekends and always for Thanksgiving break this past two years. And though my friend and her mother are like family , it’s not nearly the same. I don’t experience the same joy as I do when I do go to Georgia and see my family.
Around Christmas time Freshman year is when I really started to feel the pain of not having my family around. I was not overly depressed, but at times it really did get to me. As I mentioned before, I have always kept to myself but this was a new feeling of loneliness I had never felt before. Every person has those moments where you just need to be surrounded by the people that love and care for you the most. My people live in another state.
However, as time went I got used to the situation. God blessed with more friends here in Wilmington who are my extended family. I know He did this because He saw the pain I was in. So at the end of the day, I am extremely grateful for what I have and who I have in my life. I have also become very independent, providing and taking care of myself. I feel accomplished learning this lesson so young.