I remember the move from the Bronx to Queens as if it were yesterday. I was so sad, almost as if I were going through a heartbreak. From leaving the one place I knew since I migrated to the US to another place which I was very unfamiliar with. I had no idea the challenges that were waiting ahead for me in queens. But let’s back track for a second so I can tell you what this is all really about.
One hot summer day as my father was picking me up from school,in the Bronx, he had some big news. He announced to me that we will be moving by the end of the school year. This devastated me because I didn’t want to move. I was doing so well in the Bronx , I finally got to where I wanted to be. I had a couple of friends and constantly got good grades. These good grades led me to be accepted to a program for students to help prepare them for a test to get accepted into specialized high schools. Only the people with the best constant averages were accepted here and I, Isabella Ramdath, was entitled to this program. I was so happy, all my hard work was paying off and it showed. But I had no idea what was in store for me once I moved to Queens.
It was a hot mid summer day when we moved from the Bronx to Queens. My dad, my stepmother, my two aunts, my grandmother, my cousin, and I all moved into this yellow bricked house. It was a hectic move for all of us. Figuring out who got which rooms and where furniture would be placed in the house was stressful. I already didn’t like the idea of moving to Queens but this added to the negative mindset about this new place. In the Bronx where we lived I was used to shopping centers within a 5 minute walk but we were nowhere close to any in Queens. I found little things like this to dislike the move. Eventually we settled down and I began to get used to life in Queens. Soon the time came for me to go to school for my last year of middle school, 8th grade.
My school here compared to the Bronx was far and I wasn’t used to traveling long distances by myself. My routine in the Bronx was to go to school and come straight home after a 5 minute walk. Traveling to my new school in Queens was 30 minutes away and I had to use the MTA bus. I was very nervous on my first day. I knew no one here and how everyone got along. I also strived to show my academic excellence which was hard considering it was the first day of school. This school was smaller compared to the one I attended previously. I also was one of three lighter skinned people in my grade so I felt a bit out of place and many students there made it clear that I was. Over the next couple of weeks I began to make a couple of friends so I was more at ease. But I soon realized there weren’t the kind of people I wanted to surround myself with, I began to distance myself and found new well-rounded friends. My social life was the least of my problems though.
Upon entering this new school for my 8th grade year the specialized high school program I was previously in was no longer a resource that applied to me. I soon realized there was a program as such in my school but due to me not having previous years in the school so that they could evaluate me, I was not considered for this program. This tragedy eventually impacted my grades and academic progress. My grades went from 90’s to 75’s. I felt as though my hard work meant nothing and started to care less. Sooner or later I was able to raise my grades to the 80’s after my dad and I had a stern conversation about my education. Thankfully it was just in time to turn things around for me, In a little while state exams came around. I was so nervous, I studied so hard for these tests. My hard work did pay off when I got the results of my test. I was ecstatic. Finally I was finding my way in this new environment.
Through moving from the Bronx to Queens to making new friends to going through an academic roller coaster I prevailed. I learned to enjoy what you have while you have it because if we hadn’t moved I would have had to learn this lesson in a different way and maybe an even more complicated way. I also learned that you should take full advantage of opportunities when they come by because you never know what is in store for your future. These lessons have been a very important part of my life since I learned them. They have helped me get to where I am today as I sit on this dining room table mid day trying to complete my assignments for my college classes.
