Hello friends, recently I have noticed that I’ve been craving change. I want to change everything from my style to the activities I’m involved with. I don’t know where all this desire is stemming from but I’ve accepted it as a process that is helping me mature and grow as a person.

Change isn’t always necessarily accepted as a positive thing though. For instance, I lived in Ohio my whole life up until October of 2012. I had lived in the same house for as long as I could remember and I was familiar with everything around me. Then out of the blue my dad got offered a job in Kansas, of all places, and before I knew it we were hauling our belongings over twelve hours away to my current house.

This process was scary and I can honestly say my eighth grade year was my worst. Adapting was terribly hard, especially when I was so used to everything back home. Here I am to share some advice I wish I had known during my move and hopefully it will help anyone facing a huge change.

1. Embrace it as much as you can. Chances are you can’t ignore the change or go back in time so your only option is to embrace it as much as possible. Complaining or wishing for something else will not help anything, you just have to accept it the way it is.

2. Don’t dwell too much on the past. This goes along with my first tip, things aren’t going to go back to how they were, it’s impossible. Looking back at old good memories can be nice from time to time but it’s not okay to do it constantly because then you’ll just end up feeling sad.

3. Find a way to cope. No matter what that way is, take time to figure it all out. Things won’t be perfect in the beginning but they do get better.

4. Realize that things get better with time. Just like I said, you most likely won’t be perfectly fine in the beginning but things get better in time. Patience is key.

5. Recognize the ups and downs. Things will go wrong, that’s for sure, but make sure you acknowledge the good parts as well. When you’re facing a change you don’t like, you’ll be tempted to focus on the bad but notice there will be good too, don’t forget that.

When I first moved, I thought it was the end of the world. I cried every night and I missed all of my family and friends so much. Now, looking back I realized I wouldn’t be who I am today without that move. I wouldn’t have made the developments I have or made the relationships I have. I feel a lot stronger because of it. If I can get through that big of a change and still have my positive outlook on life, than you can too.