We were driving to Breckenridge, Colorado and on the way we're going to stop at Austin to look at some houses. At first we only went to see a house in Austin because they had told us that it was just for a summer house so we can go visit. They had told us a million times about that summer house, but it was finally happening. We were all so happy as if we had just won the lottery, and we wanted to buy the house and be able to visit any long weekend or holiday. When they told us about the summer house I was as happy as a clam, but all of a sudden my world turned into a black cloud and I didn’t know what was happening. My parents had told me that they had already seen a house and that we were going to move there. One day I got home from school and they made me sit down beside my brothers. I was really nervous and my stomach was turning. I thought something really bad had happened.

My parents started to speak and I couldn’t believe what they were saying, “We have made a decision, Monterrey is really unsafe and we are going to go live to Austin.” 

When they said, “moving to Austin” I could hear those words repeat thousand of times and it was as if my world had turned upside down and I thought there was no way of fixing it. I was very angry at my parents and so were my brothers. The world was about to end and I didn’t know how long I could go on with it. I was saying goodbye to all of my friends and hoping that I would see them again. Everyone in my class wrote me goodbye letters that made me even more sad about moving and it made me think more about how I was going to leave and not know when I was going to come back.

We were on our way to Austin with all of our things packed in the car. It was so full it felt like a clown car just without people but a lot of luggage. The car ride was really calm but I wanted the car to magically turn around and go back to Monterrey, but I knew that couldn’t happen even though my mind did. I felt like it was the end of the world and my world was on fire and was slowly burning. We arrive at the house, it looks really pretty from the outside and part of me was smiling and part of me was still angry because it looked like a really cool house but that meant that we were going to stay here awhile. We got out of the car, got the luggage out and we went in.
“Welcome to your new house, go find your rooms. GOOOO!!!!!” my mom screamed with happiness.
The house felt really welcoming and felt really nice. The world still didn’t make any sense but I had to deal with it. I went upstairs to see my room, and it was smaller than my room in Monterrey but what I did like about it was that it had a walk in closet and I had dreamed about a walk-in-closet for almost my whole life. I was really nervous because the next day I was going to start school. I would have to meet new people and try to make new friends. Since the school was so close, the bus was going to come pick me up. I had to go to the corner of the house and wait there. I had to unpack and get ready for the next day of school and while I was unpacking I found my letters from my friends. I felt a knot in my throat but I wasn’t going to cry because that would make my parents sadder than they already were about taking us to Austin. Then when I was just getting used to my room my mom called out.

“Make sure that all of your things are ready for tomorrow, you will have a great day I promise.”

“I already have all of my things in the hallway”, I said in a broken voice.

I woke up the next day with million butterflies and knots in my throat, I wasn’t ready to face the thousands of people staring at me as if I was a museum piece. I got up and got into the shower because I needed to wake up and get rid of the butterflies. I got ready to school fast because I was kinda excited but at the same time nervous. I got ready and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

My parents were waiting for me there all happy and cheery, “are you ready for school, for your first day?”
“I sure am but at the same time I am not because I want to go back to Monterrey.”

My parents looked at each other with a look of disappointment and I knew that was because of my comment. I ate a quick breakfast and walked out. I walked towards the bus stop when I noticed that there were other kids there. There were two girls and one boy and all of them went to my school. One girl Presley and the boy Thomas were in the same grade as me so that meant that they were going to be in the same class as me. I got there all nervous and when I got there two girls from my class went up to me and introduced themselves.

“Welcome my name is Abigail and she is Lauren, you are Catalina right?” Abigail said with a big smile on her face.

“Yes I am, nice to meet you.” I said in a soft but broken voice while I looked down.
“We are here to help you on anything and to become your friend.” Lauren said in a very cheery voice.
The teacher had put them in charge of helping me get settled in and make sure that I had everything that I needed. I was starting to like Austin and my school and I thought that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad living there. When I got to my classroom a boy next to me, Connor helped me get the books that I needed for the class. I was surprised because all of the kids where really nice to me. The day finished really good and I thought it went really well. I came home happy and I already had friends and it was just the first day. I finished 4th grade really good with a lot of friends but I was going to change houses so that meant I had to change schools. The thought of starting over again terrified me but I thought that it was going to be really good. I liked that school a lot and I really adapted and had really nice friends. It really helped me that I had a cousin that was in that school in my grade so I could at least know one person.

At first I hated the idea of being alone in school including the weekends. But then I found out that I didn’t need to worry because my cousins were moving to Austin also with their other cousins that had kids that were my age. Also my parents had some friends that had a daughter that was my age. The third year that I was there in Austin I was starting middle school. I was so excited I felt like a kid on their first day of kindergarten. I was going to go to the same school of my friends from my first year in Austin and my second year.  I really liked being there and hanging out with all of my friends. When I came into my school I saw my friends and jumped to hug them.

“OMG I can’t believe that we are in middle school, I missed you this summer” I  screamed.

“Me too!” Everyone else said.

I was also so excited to see everyone from my old school and be able to be with all of my friends. I wanted this to last forever and I’m sure that it could or couldn’t last forever. This change made me look at the world and the move in a better and more positive perspective. At first I was angry and thought that it couldn’t get any better. After spending some time and actually enjoying my time in Austin, I got to realize that life is like school, at first you think that it is horrible, but if you change your perspective and work hard and try to enjoy it, then you will end up liking it and actually enjoying it. After those three years of living there I realized that Austin is where I wanted to live. Unfortunately things back in Monterrey with my grandparents became very bad. My grandmother was very sick and my grandfather was too old to take care of her. We had to go back to Monterrey so fast that the tires of the car were tired and the road was crying because the car turned and screeched so bad. Even though I had left Austin, I knew that at some point I would go back because Austin changed me and changed the way life is for me. I Would never forget Austin and I will never stop thinking about how it changed my way of looking at things and living things.

After this amazing experience I got to realize that in order to be happy with whatever is happening is that you have to look at it in a positive way and try to make the most of it as you can. Sometimes things or people may disappoint you but there will always be something that helps you or makes you feel better. If you take a risk and try to look at the bright side,  you will eventually see it and notice how much it has helped you and also how it has affected you and changed you in a way that you would never have imagined. This story was worth telling because it was a really special and really changed me and really helped me get through a tough time. This helped me because now if a challenge comes or I need to make a big change that will affect my life, now I know that it might be for the better and that I might turn up liking it a lot more than I thought before.