In August, my family moved 3,869 miles away from my original hometown in New Jersey. We went from having a normal, American upbringing to picking up our entire lives and moving to Switzerland.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking, how in the world could that have happened?
Well, my dad's job takes us all over the place, and this time around, it was Switzerland. But how we got there isn't what matters; what matters is what happened once we got there.
As my family was moving to Switzerland, I was moving into college in Washington, D.C. We talked every day, as expected, but it was never easy. And it never got easy.
I've been at college for four months now and never has my being apart from my family been easy.
Everyone told me it would get easy, and I would be OK, which I am, but I don't like thinking about how far away my family is from me.
If you really sit down and think long and hard about it, it is terrifying to realize that the four most important people in my life (plus my two amazing dogs) are thousands of miles, multiple flights and one giant ocean away from me.
Surprise visits? Out of the question. Short, weekend getaways from schoolwork? Not even close to feasible.
It's hard, but it's something I have to deal with.
As a high schooler, I never thought that I would be close with my family. But something about picking up your life and moving miles away from your siblings and parents makes you realize how important they are to you; something in you just clicks and everything in you wants to stay home and never leave them.
I know it's not "cool" to miss your family, but I'm not here to be trendy--I'm here to be real.
My mom is my best friend, my dad is my biggest fan and my sisters are the ones who keep me going. And them being thousands of miles away (or even a few hundred miles away) is so incredibly hard for me.
And although it's hard, it has made me love and value my time with them even more than I already did.
Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to find a career that allows me to travel and explore the world while also allowing me to see my family often. But, for now, I'm living my college life, and casually counting down the days until I can see them again.
