Waking up in the morning, unassuming that your whole world would be turned upside down. Being torn away from your sibling and mother, feeling helpless all around. Not a single clue when you would ever see your friends again. It’s just pure panic, realizing there is less than 3 hours to pack before your flight to the unknown. It’s just you. You’re all alone, stranded in the middle of D.C, walking out from a plane departing from Houston. But, as you drive into Maryland, you sense familiarity, as faint thoughts brush by your mind. You get closer, and closer, until the memories are shooting through your head, leaving you without a moment to stop and think. Finally, you gather yourself and recognize, this is where my family is, this is my birthplace, this is home.

Background

I was born here, right at the Calvert Medical Center in the summer of 2006. I had attended school at Barstow Elementary School, until the third grade. But there I was, enjoying the final weeks of school in 2015, until we skipped a couple days to get an early start in our summer vacation spot, of Greece. Departing from Athens, we somehow found our way to Houston, Texas. This move had a major effect on me, since I was still a young girl. Over the years, I eased my way into this new environment, getting comfortable with what I would come to consider home. Little did I know, 7 years later, my life would be flipped over once again.

The event

With little-to-no notice, I was told I had to leave the home we built in Houston, to come live with my father here in Maryland. On the drive to the airport and during the flight, all I could feel was fear and panic, walking into a place I hadn’t been in for almost a decade. When we began the drive home, I couldn’t help but look out of the window, holding onto tiny fragments of my memories. I would recognize random stores and say with excitement, “Dad look! it’s still here!” As we reversed into the driveway of my childhood home, I could feel everything rushing back. My felt my pulse beating rapidly, as I scramble to organize my thoughts. My dad turns to me and says, “I finally brought you home, how do you feel?”. I couldn’t find any words to say back, but I knew that he knew exactly how I was feeling. Right in front of me, I remember myself, a young, impressionable girl, playing out front with my neighborhood friends, laughing and genuinely enjoying life. As I walked in, the fresh smell of jasmine, a familiar scent of my home, greeted me. All the fear and uncertainty that had consumed me disappeared. And suddenly, finally, I was filled with happiness.