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Kailey Dashiell

Ms.Woelke

Pre AP English 9

27 August 2018

Personal Narrative

When I was younger, my family, and I would drive to California every summer, it was

our tradition. As soon as school would end we would hop into our Chevy Tahoe and start the

long journey south. My brothers and I loved spending the summers in California. The bright,

sunny days seemed to sparkle compared to the dreary rain of Washington State. The summer

consisted of fun-filled days and warm starry nights. Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo, movies

galore and lots of late nights. But nothing was better than swimming in our own pool at night.

We loved night swimming whether it was with friends and family or just by ourselves​.

My mom and dad started talking about the possibility of moving to California

permanently and asked us how we felt about it. I immediately jumped on board. I believed

everyday would be just like summer, but I was wrong. Once we finished moving into our new

house everything looked and felt completely different. In the beginning, I was excited to start

something new, to experience a new life, but I quickly learned that the idea I had grown attached

to wasn't reality. The days were too hot and I had to wake up early, I felt like I had lost

something, I had this idea of what my life was going to be like, but I was completely wrong.

Back home I always had friends, I knew everyone at school. I had gone to Charles

Wright Academy since beginning school, and my brother was there before me. Whenever we
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would get a new student, it didn't seem like a big deal. I never thought I would be in the new

student position. When I was faced with the fact that I would have to make new friends it scared

me, I didn't feel ready for that. I had never been very outgoing and I usually chose to sit by

myself in situations that involve meeting new people, but I knew that I couldn't sit alone

everyday. Hillcrest Academy was a lot smaller than the school I had previously attended but it

was still unsettling. I was having to do something I had never done before, I was being pushed

far outside of my comfort zone. It was hard at first, but as the days passed I got really close to

some people, and although everything was new I didn't feel as anxious. As the year progressed I

learned more about all of my classmates, we joked and laughed we got to know each other, and I

became comfortable, they welcomed me and helped me enjoy school. The people I met there

motivated me to get my work done and establish my own routine.

I was at Hillcrest Academy for two and a half years before they went bankrupt and had to

shut down. During those two years I made a lot of friends and a lot of memories. Having to leave

was hard, although I had been enrolled in the school for only a brief period of time I got really

attached to lots of people there, and I experienced things I never would have been able to

imagine without them. I am grateful for that experience because I learned that just because things

can seem like they are going to end badly doesn’t mean it will turn out that way.