November Guest Post: Change

Hey everyone, Kasey here! November's guest post is about change, and it's written by my good friend Alexis. Alexis and I met once and hit it off, despite the fact we've never lived in the same place at the same time, and the majority of our friendship consisted of emails telling stories of our weeks and sympathizing with the other. Alexis is a super talented writer, and I always look forwards to one of her emails. I hope that you enjoy this post! Email us at tcktimes@gmail.com if you'd like to write a guest post like Alexis.

Change is an interesting thing. I’ve experienced quite a bit of it myself. I’m a retired TCK now living back in my home country after living around Asia for a while. My family moved back here 2 years ago and I’ve done my best to adjust back to the life I knew before my family started traveling. I’ve moved 7 times and the longest I’ve lived in one place is 4 years. Change is no new thing for me. Most TCKs are very familiar with it. Our world is constantly changing around us and change is a part of life. That doesn’t mean I have to like it…

Different people have different views about change. For me at least, I could do with a little less change in my life. I’ve already traveled the world and I’ve experienced so many amazing things. But I’ve also moved around a lot and left behind friends. Coming to a new place where you don’t know anyone or understand the culture is hard. The biggest change in my life was moving back to my home country and finding that life here as a middle schooler is far different than what I remembered life in elementary school was like. It was a change that I had a really hard time dealing with. I didn’t like it and I just wanted something in my life to be constant, to stay the same, to not change for once. I wanted to be able to have friendships that lasted longer than a year and a half on average. I wanted to be able to call a place home for longer than 4 years. I wanted things to be familiar and comfortable around me. But change always got in the way of that.

Some people say that change is good. I don’t disagree with them; it is helpful to be pushed in new directions sometimes and be forced into uncomfortable situations that result in personal growth. But I myself don’t like change very much. In my opinion, I’ve had my fair share of changes in my life and I’m ready to settle down in one spot and get comfortable with my surroundings. Moving back to my home country was really difficult as it involved a lot of changes I didn’t expect. I had come into the very middle of middle school. I started 7th grade here in January 2019 and the rest of that year was just a mess. It was rough and hard, but I got through it and that experience helped make me who I am today. 8th grade was much better. Everything was going amazingly and all was well. I was doing well in school, I was on a sports team, and I was making new friends. But then COVID came and change hit again. I was not happy. The change between school life going perfectly to school life being nonexistent was difficult and I did not appreciate it. But again, I got through it and made it work. I found ways to socialize with my friends and stay sane when my 3 younger siblings are wreaking havoc about the house.

I don’t like to change. Not in the slightest. But I know there’s no avoiding it. My time as a TCK and experiencing a lot of change has prepared me to face new changes and challenges in the future. It’s going to be hard for all of us. Change isn’t easy. But especially as TCKs, we know how to deal with it. It won’t be easy and it won’t be fun, but it’s not the end of the world. We can make the better of it if we set our minds to it. There are always opportunities to grow and get better at something. Change stands in our way. I know for me, I’m really hesitant to try new things that require some sort of change. But then I could be missing out on great opportunities and fun experiences. I don’t like change, but it’s not something to fear. In my opinion, change is healthy in small amounts. And TCKs are more fit to deal with it than anyone else. So take heart in today’s world of change and be encouraged that you can overcome whatever changes life decided to throw at you!

Stay safe!

Alexis 🦋