Big and Bigger Changes

Winter in Idaho is a different kind of cold than I was used to, dry, white and windy. Settling into my uncle's house was anything but pleasant. My dad and I shared a room and my bed was kept under his during the day. He had a storage unit for his things and I only had a backpack, my 2 parakeets and my shiny new guitar .

Dad would leave for work and I would hang around with my 5 cousins, all girls. Ranging from the ages of 5 to 18 , they kept things interesting.

As much as I tried to stay secluded in that room, my Aunt wouldn't let that peace last long. Early mornings were for helping with breakfast for the family, late mornings were for bible study in the music room, lunch was another meal to clean up after and so on and so forth..

I felt more like Cinderella than apart of the family.

Winter break came to a close, time to start at my new school.

I woke up early with dad that day, nervous and completely clueless to what the day would hold. Would I make any friends? What classes will I have? Will the school be easy to navigate? A change in scenery couldn't be worse than lock down at "home". I showered , brushed up, filled my water bottle and waited in the driveway.

I didn't get a measure on exactly how cold it was that morning, I would have to guess in the area of 20 or so degrees. The bus looked warm but I knew it was full of strangers. To my surprise , the strangers were mostly between 5 and 11. Half way through my 8th grade year, this wasn't a bad start to the day.

The bus made it's way through town , picking up little kids and high school students alike, until we reached the elementary school. Assuming this was the first stop , I stayed seated. The driver watched me in the rear view until the bus was empty. She then assured me this was my stop, "The middle school is just across the field, honey." I searched out the window and saw the simple, square building planted across the white plains. Gathering my backpack I wondered how my sneakers would fare through the deep snow, with little other choice, I made my way across .

All the kids stood around the front doors , some quietly tuned into their headphones, others gossiping , few were finishing up the assignments they had 2 weeks to complete at home. I walked through the crowd in my soggy and cold sneakers, eagerly awaiting the warm rush of air on the other side of the doors. I grabbed the handle and pulled, but it was locked...

Apparently , They didn't let the kids in until 8 o'clock sharp, how considerate. My only option at this point was to wait where I stood while catching glances from those close by. A very, VERY long 15 minutes.

8 o'clock and the first bell were a more than welcome feeling. Exposed skin , however, had no feeling at all. Warm air and a big crowd, what a rush! I had to fix my hair still wet from the shower. My fingers wanted to find the tips of the strands but instead they found a snap, Ice breaking and my hair breaking with it. An equal amount of anguish shortly followed that warm relief.

Of all the possibilities I had mentally prepared for, an icy new hair cut was not on the list. Just my luck.

First mission of the day is to figure out where to go, I find the office and introduce myself. I'm handed my scheduled classes and corresponding rooms. Now, where is room 101 for science? Perhaps I should have asked , but I didn't fancy the idea of standing out anymore than I already had in the first 20 minutes on school grounds.

To the right , rooms 210 through 215. I'll go with the left then.

Walking in late , eyes on me, the teacher says, " How nice of you to join us, you must be our new student." Blending in was NOT working out for me so far.

I wore my red, old school hoodie . My sister got the same one with our last name on it, so I had to choose a different name to put on the back. Because of my red hair, I chose "ginger". This became my new name in this new place.

The students were welcoming, I even had a table to sit at my first day! The "Dairy Queens" table. They were the daughters of the dairy farmers , a country version of a "Prep". Worlds more friendly than the one's I was used to.

Back home, They were less than kind. Once , a few of them followed me home through the woods and surrounded me. All because I looked at them in surprise when one let out a loud laugh at lunch.

Here though, kindness seemed to be the way of life for these other kids, and I got used to it pretty fast.

It didn't take too long for dad to find a house we could rent . Starting high school with my own room, an actual room! I didn't care for the color choice of the owner (Pink) but I was happy to have my own space, and bathroom!

A mattress on the floor, an empty bookshelf and a bed side lamp sitting on a box.

Dad excelled at his job installing satellites , so sometimes he had to work far away for a few days. I finally had my solitude .

Life was good.

Summer was sweet.

Friends were close by and we spent time playing video games and throwing a football around until someone's mom made dinner.

I was well fed by my "other mothers" , at home we had tv dinners and snacks, which I equally didn't mind as a young teen.

Highschool was closer but still a few miles to walk, so dad bought me a bike to ride in the mornings.

My Grammy (dad's mom) decided she couldn't let me keep living out of cardboard boxes so she took me dresser shopping.

I had a room that actually looked like a room, Friends to find on the first day and what felt like the whole world in front of me.