Last July, my family and I moved from Long Island, New York to North Carolina. After living in New York for 18 years, to say I was dreading the move in an understatement. The thought of leaving behind everything familiar and moving to a place full of new and strange places and people put a knot in my stomach every time I thought about it.

Now, almost a year later, I can say I am grateful that I got to experience this with my family and here's why...

1. I learned how to value my friends

After being only a few blocks away from my best friend for my whole life, putting a twelve hour car ride between us really showed me who my true friends are. This move taught me the importance of making an effort to stay involved in other peoples lives and that if people cared about me as I thought, they would make the same effort.

2. The importance of calling my grandmother

I have been blessed that I got to see my grandma at least once a week for the first eighteen years of my life. Now that I live far from her and go to school even farther, I have got into the habit of making sure to call her as much as I can. I realized how much her smiling face and upbeat personality really did make every week of my life better.

3. What is meant to be will be

I thought that moving to a new state would drastically change my life. Although I am far from so many of the people that are important to me, I learned that what is meant to be in life will be and who's meant to be in your life will be.

4. The importance of trying new things

I always considered myself lucky to have been able to call one town, one house my home for all my life. I knew where to get the best coffee and where to go on a Friday night. After moving, I vividly remember having to use the Maps App on my phone just to get to the closest Panera Bread for breakfast. Although not knowing where anything was right after moving, and as frustrating as it was,I was taught that sometimes having to try a place called Bojangles may turn out to be your new favorite place to get sweet tea. Living a life in one place is not how people were meant to live. Being pushed into a place full of unfamiliarities taught me to embrace change.

5. Don't take where you live for granted

After being in the same town my entire life, sometimes I would get bored and long to somewhere else. I also never appreciated having a pool in my backyard. It wasn't until I lived in a town that I did not know anyone and a house without a pool that I learned how lucky I truly was.

6. Homesickness does not last forever

When I first moved, I longed to be back home. Going to school in Texas amplified my longing to be back on Long Island surrounded by my friends and family. After a short time, this feeling subsided and I immersed myself in new things with new people and slowly, day by day, I learned to appreciate the places I was and the people I was surrounded by, even though it was not the people I have known for my nineteen years.

7. The appreciation of a FaceTime

When a FaceTime call is as close as you can get to someone who is hundreds or even thousands of miles away, that FaceTime call becomes so cherished. Being able to see someone face as well as their emotions and hear their voice and laugh really makes the feelings of missing them dwindle.

8. How to be comfortable being alone

After moving to a new place where I did not know a single person, I learned how to be comfortable being alone for a few hours. I grew comfortable being with just myself and my thoughts. With this came a value in being alone and I now firmly believe it is important for someone to have a little bit of time to themselves everyday. I learned what really is important to me and learned the value of taking care of myself mentally and physically. This taught me so much growth and gave me the opportunity to reinvent myself into someone I looked up to and appreciate. I am not saying I am perfect, but I have come a long way and and now happy with the person I am.