In the early fall of 2018, I went to school thinking it was an ordinary day, not knowing the news I would hear would upend my life. During lunch, my best friend, Sophia brought me to the back of the soccer field and told me she had big news. Sophia is funny and often jokes around. She is an outgoing person and can always put a smile on my face. Frequently, she would announce that she had “something important to tell me” but then just tell a joke. This time was different, her face showed that she was serious. The moment before she spoke, I remember sensing something was wrong and immediately began to feel nervous, even shaky. In only three months, she would move across the world to Belgium. My stomach turned, and I held back tears. I was in shock. How would I survive without my best friend? How would I survive without Sophia? It felt like we were the only two people in the universe, and the world stopped.  

The three months until her departure passed by as quickly as the snap of a finger. Sophia was gone, across the world, and not on vacation. I went to school every day and thought about her, wishing she were there. I felt lonely, despondent, and like part of me was missing. With Sophia gone, there was a hole in my life. Every morning I would try to get out of school by sleeping through my alarm, or fake being sick. I despised going to school, and my parents sympathized. After a couple of months of wallowing in self-pity, my parents told me they booked a trip to Belgium. When they told me the news, I was flabbergasted, and jumped up and down; I would be happy again with Sophia. 

Counting down the days until my trip, I texted my best friend every day. She would not always respond, but it made me happy knowing I would see her soon. When I got to Belgium and saw her, I was ecstatic but soon realized something was different. She was happy to see me, but I was over the moon to see her. She had made other friends in school and had begun to move on. She was happy and brought over her new friends. Selfishly, I wanted them to leave, so Sophia and I could make up for lost time. She had embraced the change, started new activities, and made the best of her move. I had been scared to move on and languished.

 While Belgium was great, leaving felt awful. Traveling all the way home, I had hours to reflect. Sophia had started a whole new chapter in life, and she was happy with it. On the one hand, I was happy for her. On the other, I was upset that she had moved on. When I finally got home, I talked to my family. Change happens to everyone. Change can be hard, but struggling with it will make it worse. Furthermore, I began to see that the change for her was probably even more difficult than for me and she had adjusted. It was time for me too.

After that school year, I applied and moved to St. Luke’s. I, too, made new friends, while continuing to talk to Sophia. Even though it took a while to accept that Sophia moved on, once I did, my life got better. I learned the important life lesson that change can be difficult but often helps us improve.