Fayette.Talk

By Melissa

June 25, 2008 5:09 PM | Link to this

My parents made me move at that exact age. It was extremely difficult for me. Kids that age are not very accepting and already have established groups of friends, especially if you are moving to a small town. Good luck to both you and your daughter with your decision - my heart goes out to both of you. It will make her a better person, but you’ll have to really be there for her. Some kids handle such moves better than others, so it all depends on your circumstances. That being said, you’re the parents, so you’re the decision-makers for waht is best overall for your family!

By A. Nony Mouse.

June 25, 2008 5:21 PM | Link to this

So what are your options? Putting your 16 year olds wants ahead of your husbands needs or feelings.

Guess I am old fashioned but I think the husband comes first. He needs and wants his family with him.

No she might not be happy with it. However, youneed to let her know which team you are batting for, Daddy’s Team!

By A. Nony Mouse.

June 25, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this

So what are your options? Putting your 16 year olds wants ahead of your husbands needs or feelings.

Guess I am old fashioned but I think the husband comes first. He needs and wants his family with him.

No she might not be happy with it. However, youneed to let her know which team you are batting for, Daddy’s Team!

By AmazonRed

June 25, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this

She’s 16. It’s time for her to learn how life isn’t fair sometimes. It’s Seattle, not Siberia. Great city and great schools. She could love it. She’s happy in GA and fear of the unknown is what is holding her back. She’ll miss her friends but is that better than missing your family?

I transferred high schools in 11th grade. Though I wanted to transfer it was the best decision of my short life at the time.

If she were 18, maybe she’d have more of a say, but as a minor, she needs to be with her family.

And either she can make the CHOICE to make the most of it or sulk and waste two good years of her life.

Just my opinion. :-)

By kgirlatl

June 25, 2008 5:48 PM | Link to this

Things to consider: Your daughter in college may have to start paying out-of-state tuition, if she does not have her own residence. I know my roommate had a problem with that.

Also, how do the school systems in Seattle compare with the one your 10 yo is in now? Better? If so, how will she fare academically in the new school?

I moved as a teenager, and not even that far, and it was difficult. It turned out to be better for me in the long run, but it is hard to see at the time. Life may be rocky, either way.

By AmazonRed

June 25, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this

By the way, with the all the social networking sites out there (Facebook, MySpace) she can start making friends at the very high school she’ll be attending in Seattle in the fall. That’s what a lot of kids do as soon as they are accepted to college. Maybe she’ll even find a student in a similar situation. It’s always easier to adjust if you have an ally adjusting with you.

By catlady

June 25, 2008 6:07 PM | Link to this

If it were part of a year, there might be some debate. However, 2 years of H.S. is too long for the family to be split.

I doubt the college student would have much problem as long as the family maintains some kind of a mailing address in state. It should not come up after the first year, unless there is some question on the FAFSA about state citizenship. I think once you do it and you get a renewal FAFSA it is filled in for you.

By Doug

June 26, 2008 7:26 AM | Link to this

I moved at a similar age. It was tough, but that’s life. It will build confidence. I have since moved several times to pursue opportunities for personal and professional growth, including overseas, without much concern because I had “been there and done that.”

My biggest regret is that I lost track of my friends from previous schools. I think today’s technology may help solve that problem, but I would recommend encouraging your daughter to stay in touch with her friends while also making new ones.

By Elliot Garcia

June 26, 2008 7:47 AM | Link to this

I would just get a divorce. That way, you are not stuck moving to Seattle and your daughter gets to keep all of her friends…

By Kim

June 26, 2008 7:48 AM | Link to this

My parents moved me to Atlanta the summer before my junior year of high school. My brother was going to be a freshman and adapted without any problems. I was a much different story. In the end, it was the best thing that happened to me, but it took 2 years to realize that. Hindsight is 20/20. She will resist and you need to expect that. But my parents’ support was all I needed, through the good times and bad, and that’s what she’ll need as well. Good luck to all of you.

By Taylor

June 26, 2008 7:51 AM | Link to this

I am currently 21 and a senior in college. When I was 16 (in between my sophomore and junior year) my family moved from the Midwest to Atlanta. I was excited about the move but also nervous about making friends. The first 6 months were hard, but once I was involved in activities it was very easy to meet people. Moving also taught me how to make friends once I got to college. It may seem like a big deal but she will get through it and be better off for it.

By CBL

June 26, 2008 8:11 AM | Link to this

If you have this kind of experience, it will make college and life beyond much easier. It’s hard to leave friends, but you need to be able to move and adapt if you are going to be successful later in life. Think about how many job opportunities one would pass up if they refused to move out of their home city.

By West Cobb Dad

June 26, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this

My dad was transfered from NC down to Atlanta right in the middle of my junior year. I left friends I had known since the 2nd grade. Was it difficult? Yes. Did I enjoy the move? No. I went from a high school that was 60-40 (white to black) to a high school in north Cobb that had no more than 10 blacks in the whole school. I hated it. I had friends of all races back in NC, but could not fit in at this ‘better’ school where the kids drove better cars than the teachers. My senior breakfast found me leaving after 10 minutes due to the fact there wasn’t a table I was accepted at. Now, once I went to college, everything changed. I took that lesson of snobbery and exclusion that I had learned and made myself even a better person. I still hold true that the only thing that matters is what is on the inside, not outside or how much money you have. I have never went to my reunion and don’t care to go. My son is 15 and ended up at a different h.s. than his friends did (districting). But, with AOL, MySpace, and email, he has kept up with about a dozen of them. It is really going to depend on what she makes of it when you move. Good luck.

By Liz

June 26, 2008 8:44 AM | Link to this

I moved from South Carolina to Atlanta in December of 2006. My children had only attended one school district for their entire school career. My oldest daughter, who turned 16 one month after we moved took quite a while to adjust. My younger daughters, twins who were 12, adjusted very well. They thought the move was the best thing for us. The oldest had a different story until she found her niche and got involved in extra activities at school. Now, 18 months later, she is in agreement with her younger sisters and thinks it was the best thing we could have done.

I do have some personal experience with this matter, too. My family moved frequently while we were growing up and it was difficult to get used to a new city and a new school. We rarely stayed in one city for more than a year, so my memories of school are of me trying to make new friends, knowing we wouldn’t live there for very long.

As I told my daughters, I survived and it taught me many lessons. Good luck to you. Remember, she will adjust.

By Scary Old Guy

June 26, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this

Y’all go ahead and move to Seattle - Your daughter can live in my basement while she finishes her last two years of high school.

By Krystal

June 26, 2008 9:12 AM | Link to this

You need to go with your husband… circles of friends change our whole lives and her highschool friends more than likely will not be her friends anymore 2 years after she is in college. Change can be good… it is how you choose to look at it. It will be hard for her but I think she is a pretty likeable person and I think she will do just fine.

By GayBlackCripple

June 26, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this

Since when do children dictate anything to their parents?

If you feel you must give her a choice it should be this:

Act like an adult and she’ll be treated like one - meaning she can have some input into your new home and the move.

OR

Act like a child and she’ll be treated like one - meaning she’ll be told what to do and if she doesn’t she’ll face consequences, i.e. no car until she can buy one for herself.

Either way, you need to tell her to put a smile on her face and be pleasent about the entire issue.

Why do parents today insist on treating their children as equals?

By Emily

June 26, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this

Have your daughter read an article in USA Today about how many families are being forced to live in homeless shelters because of their parents being out of work and out of a home. Have her read about people living in cars, perhaps then the kid will be a little less selfish and may possibly be glad she’ll have a home to move to. Does she have to take a family pet to the shelter because they no longer have a home? Does she have clothes and food ? You daughter may be distraught for a short time but face th facts, not everything will go here way in life and she’ll have to adjust. She’ll get over it, I can’t say the same for the poor kids who woke up in a homeless shelter today. Your selfish kid sounds to me like a spoiled little primadonna in the making. Good luck, you’ll be needing it.

By C.M. Thornton, III

June 26, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

Absolutely you push the issue, you are the PARENT. Giving in will show your weakness. The problem with todays parents is they try to reason with their kids and be their “friend” instead of a parent.

You are the parent, she is the child. She will survive and get over it. Kids in the military move all the time. She should have NO input in the decision of the parents.

By RW

June 26, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this

Are you kidding? She should be glad she is leaving this state behind with it’s lowest in the country SAT scores and the first school in the nation in over forty years to lose acreditation, Clayton County. I’d be dancing a gig if I were her, about to leave here for such a cool place as Seattle. In no time at all she will be glad she left this place. At that age you think the friends you have then will be friends for life. We all know that’s usually not the case.

By Ira

June 26, 2008 10:22 AM | Link to this

My dad was in the USMC and I moved a great deal over the years.

Kids are more reslient than most folks think they are. Your daughter will be fine.

Now, if I whined like your daughter there’d have been he11 to pay. Perhaps she needs to meet the back of your hand?

By mayretter local

June 26, 2008 10:22 AM | Link to this

The 16 yo will be better off for broadening her horizons. Seattle is a great city. There’s so much to do that cannot be found in metro ATL.

so they loaded up the truck and moved to Puget Sound…

just wait until you get your first glimpse of Mt. Rainier as the back drop to the Seattle skyline. Or take the boat to Vancouver Island. Or cross Puget Sound on the car ferry and drive around Olympic Peninsula, seeing the sea stacks at La Push for the first time.

By Susan

June 26, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

I say don’t go. Because I am sad to hear you will be leaving. I will truly miss you. I do wish the best for you guys. And your daughter will be fine because of you and your husband.

By Amanda

June 26, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this

I moved to Atlanta at that age after growing up in one place my entire life and I can say it was a very difficult thing for me. I was not happy with their decision at all. However, now that I’m in my mid-20’s, I can see how it’s made me a much more confident well-rounded person. I have a great career with a lot of interaction with new people. Moving helped me develop the social skills and confidence necessary for my job. So if you do decide to move, know that it will be very difficult for her. But in the end, she may actually thank you!

By pam

June 26, 2008 11:02 AM | Link to this

It seems that a lot of the posts here take a nasty tone and assume that because you’re concerned about your daughter’s feelings that you are not being a proper parent. I could not disagree more. The very fact that you are concerned about her feelings shows that you are a caring parent. And, of course, as the parent, you’ll make the final decision. Perhaps you could discuss with her that you are aware of how this can be scary, but may also be an opportunity for growth. Eventually she will realize that any decision made will have to be in the best interest of the enitre family. I do not have personal experience to offer, but I pray that this will turn out well for you.

By Fayette teacher

June 26, 2008 11:27 AM | Link to this

Abby, is it an option that your husband could come home on weekends for the first two years? Or do you have a good friend that you can trust (not scary guy with a basement) that would let your daugther stay with them and come “home” to you on the holidays? Just a thought…or she could move and give it a try before you try to find someone for her to stay with…GPA is a consideration and the schools… because some think Georgia Schools are easier. I think you are a good mother and wife to consider the needs of your entire family. 11th grade is a very hard time to move…but if she goes now she will be more likely to find a college near you to go to out there.

By neighbordidthis

June 26, 2008 12:01 PM | Link to this

My next door neighbor stayed behind with her 16 year old daughter, to allow her to finish HS, when the dad was transferred to Maryland. Two years later, their marriage was damaged by the distance, the travelling to visit, and the financial burden of maintaining two homes. The dad had a mild heart attack and had to take a leave from work and almost lost the job.

After graduation, the daughter then decided she couldn’t move to Maryland for college because all her friends were here in GA. So the parents let her stay and now pay out of state tuition.

My neighbor said if she had it to do again, she would not stay behind. Her daughter never really appreciated what it cost her parents—which was a lot. That caused a lot of friction between the mother and daughter too, because the mother resented her daughter taking all that sacrifice for granted. In the end, the parents tried to protect the daughter and almost destroyed their marriage in the process.

By neighbordidthis

June 26, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this

My next door neighbor stayed behind with her 16 year old daughter, to allow her to finish HS, when the dad was transferred to Maryland. Two years later, their marriage was damaged by the distance, the travelling to visit, and the financial burden of maintaining two homes. The dad had a mild heart attack and had to take a leave from work and almost lost the job.

After graduation, the daughter then decided she couldn’t move to Maryland for college because all her friends were here in GA. So the parents let her stay and now pay out of state tuition.

My neighbor said if she had it to do again, she would not stay behind. Her daughter never really appreciated what it cost her parents—which was a lot. That caused a lot of friction between the mother and daughter too, because the mother resented her daughter taking all that sacrifice for granted. In the end, the parents tried to protect the daughter and almost destroyed their marriage in the process.

By pat

June 26, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this

We moved our two girls to Atlanta from Michigan. They, too, had grown up in that one, wonderful school system. The oldest was sixteen and in the middle of her junior year. She applied every ounce of her persuasive powers to finish school there. She too, had a wonderful circle of friends, had a 4.something gradepoint average.She might have convinced me, had there only been one child to consider. After an extreemely difficult and, what felt like eternal, period of major adjustments, it has turned out to be the best thing for her. She is extremely well-adjusted, has wonderful friends, and has received a 3.92 GPA in an honors program at a college in the midwest (via scholarship). She no longer has any desire to visit her old home. She has indicated that should we move from here, we’d need to rent her a place to come home to when she’s not away at college. My heart goes out to you. This was a horrible time-but it worked out very well. Good luck.

By mamaj

June 26, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this

No need for some of you to get nasty. Don’t assume that this kid is some kind of primadonna or snot. Kids’ friends,(especially at that age),are their life and losing them is nearly like a death to them. I agree that the best decision will ultimately be made by the parents, but to lessen some of the pain, try to see it from her viewpoint, give whatever sympathy necessary, and allow her some input when arriving at her new surroundings and just let time do the rest. Good luck.

By jolie

June 26, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this

If your girl really doesn’t want to go and you make her, she’ll either run away from home before you leave or after. Kids are determined at that age. If she’s got relatives in GA, why don’t you let her stay with them? Trust me, her grades will drop and she might get involved with bad people or drugs if you make her move.

By johng

June 26, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this

I was an Air Force brat and was scheduled to finish my senior year of high school in Michigan in about six weeks. My parents had agreed that I could stay the six weeks and catch up to them in Atlanta after. On the night before they were to leave my father came to me and said “son, you are coming with us”. I was furious. But, I did what my father asked. And, I figured out later that my father was a lot smarter than the furious 17 year old senior. He knew that there was nothing but trouble for a hormone stoked teenage boy away from Mom & Dad. I thank my Dad to this day for making me go. That was 1977 and I have been in Atlanta since. It was hard moving. But, I survived and thrived. Seattle is a beautiful city in a wonderous part of the country. After adjustment all of you will thrive. Good Luck.

By JJ

June 26, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this

I’m with RW Seattle is such a beautiful place. I was there last summer, and would relocate in a heart beat if it weren’t for my job and family here.

Seattle is VERY dog friendly. People take their dogs everywhere.

There is so much to see and do in that part of the country. The West Coast is stunningly beautiful.

I do feel for your daughter though. My family moved here two months after I graduated from HS. I went from 3rd grade to graduation with the same group of friends. I was miserable and wanted to go back “home” as soon as I could. It was quite a culture shock to come from out west to the South. However, we made it work, and 31 years later, we are still here. I never thought I would put down roots here, or raise kids here, but here I am. One day, I’ll make it out west, but for now, Atlanta is home.

Your daughter will adjust, but she will be miserable for a while, having to leave her life and all her friends. Get used to her crying. But, be positive. Have her get on the computer, and take a look at Seattle. Order a Visitor’s Guide and have her look through it.

I’d move to Seattle in a heart beat!!

By Me

June 26, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this

Yeah, she is going to be upset. Yeah, her friends are important to her. Yeah, it is going to be difficult, but that is life. Your family is moving including your daughter. She will meet new friends and be a better person from the experience.

By Andi

June 26, 2008 2:16 PM | Link to this

Have you thought at all about the HOPE scholarship? I’m a second year at Georgia Tech, and I cannot stress enough how much having free tuition to such a great school has helped me and my family. Just something to consider…

By abc

June 26, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this

How important are high school social circles? I grew up a military brat, and moving wasn’t that big a deal to us, but then again we always moved from one military community to another, so there were lots of other kids in the same boat. Making new friends wasn’t difficult. Realizing that you’ll lose friends upon making life changes wasn’t (and isn’t) a monumental awakening for us, it was and is simply the way life is.

Tell the teen to consider it a life adventure, and take her with you. You might even wish to propose that if she still feels a strong attraction for the area upon H.S. graduation, she could possibly attend college in GA with old friends — but I seriously doubt a student would pick UGA or any other state schools over what’s available on the left coast, and new friends will trump old ones.

By Susan

June 26, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this

I know this young lady, and she will not become a looser if she moves with her family. She will adjust to whatever decision her parents decide to make for her. She has parents that care for her and will do what is in the best interest for her.

By Ira

June 26, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

Susan - I don’t think anyone here is suggesting that the daughter will become “looser” if she moves.

If she’s loose in Atlanta, she’ll be loose in Seattle. A tramp is a tramp is a slatern is a hussy anywhere they go.

By You must stand up

June 26, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this

And put your foot down. My wife wanted to move closer to her parents in Florida. We went down, interviewed for jobs, secured offers and looked for houses. When it was time to go, our oldest daughter, a junior in high school who had been silent to this point said, “I’m not going.” She was going to live with friends, she said, and complete her senior year at her high school. My wife relented and because we had given up our jobs and had to cancel all the plans, we had to scramble for employment and we suffered a near financial collapse because of it. Stand up and put your foot down. You are the parents and your daughter will survive having to change schools. Stuff happens. The sooner she learns it, the better.

By Penguinmom

June 26, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this

Both my sister and I moved between our sophmore and junior years in high school. We used to joke that my parents moved the second time just to be fair. We both moved from school systems we had attended for at least 5 years.

I didn’t have much trouble with the move from Ky to GA. I met new friends, got involved in church and went to college here in Georgia. Downside, I didn’t have life-long friends so haven’t really cared too much about going back to class reunions. It’s not that I don’t want to see the people, just that I didn’t grow up with them so there’s not a long history.

My sister had a harder time in our move from FL to KY. She was very involved in her previous high school (annual staff, etc.) She had a best friend who she was very close to. She adjusted but never really totally loved it. She still feels more at home in FL than she ever did in KY. She did go to college in KY and enjoyed that quite a bit.

One thing my parents did was to invite a friend of my sister along for the move. The friend went with us on the drive up and as we got settled in. Then she went back home. I think that helped my sister with the actual move.

Meeting new friends and adjusting to new places is a skill that all of us benefit from. Learning it at a younger age makes college adjustments and other life changes easier.

Last thing, as a Christian, I decided that I didn’t know what God might have planned for me. Maybe my future husband lived in this new state and this was my chance to get closer to him (turned out to be true for me.) Maybe a job/college opportunity that I would never have dreamed of will become a reality because I am in a new location with different people and opportunities.

By John

June 26, 2008 3:08 PM | Link to this

My parents moved me at that exact age. I protested, but it was THEIR decision, not mine. You need to be the parent and not the friend. As far as the daughter in college goes, she’s an adult isn’t she? Once I was in college my parents moved to another state and I stayed here. It’s not easy, but that’s life.

In the end, I’m glad they did what they did. Teaches you that nothing is forever and it makes you a more rounded person by experiencing life in other places.

By cc

June 26, 2008 3:26 PM | Link to this

My dad’s job got transferred when I was about to be a junior, and I moved from KY to Dallas, TX. I hated it at the time, and didn’t make good friends at my new high school. I’m in college now, and grateful for the move, which gave me more experiences and made me more resilient.

By JJ

June 26, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

Tell your daughter, she is going on a new life adventure. She is closing one chapter of her life, and opening a brand new one. Life is all about changes, so get used to it.

No one said it would be fair.

By Stacey

June 26, 2008 3:35 PM | Link to this

As others have pointed out, I really think you should make her go with the family. I may think differently if you were moving in the middle of her senior year but she will still have two years of high school left. I’m sure it will be hard for all of you; change usually is. Be compassionate in considering her feeling but at the same time, be firm in making sure she understands that she has to go.

I’ve been out of high school 20 years so things may have changed a lot, but I remember pretty much everyone reaching out to “the new kid”. Is she active in sports and/or clubs at her current school? If so, encourage her to try to immediately join the same groups at her new school. Also, I’m sure there will be kids her age in your new neighborhood and church (if applicable). Encourage her to introduce herself to some of those kids who can then introduce her to their friends and show her around the new area. Moving, like everything else, is what you make of it.

By Mattie

June 26, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this

We moved our oldest son at the same age. He was miserable for a long time, but ended up deciding to stay in our new state for college, after we were transferred again. When we were asked to move last year, my husband chose early retirement instead. We had promised our younger kids we wouldn’t put them through a move in HS. You do what you have to do, but sometimes the upheaval just isn’t in the best interests of everyone.

By Tracy

June 26, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this

Like Susan, I know this child. She’s a wonderful, well adjusted child and she will not have rebellious issues because of this move. (I don’t understand the mean spiritedness of some posts.) In any event, Abby, you need to do what’s best for your family. Considering her feelings is important, but not enough to leave her here (you know she can live with me) or split up the family for two years. One year was hard enough for me and my husband came home every weekend! I too would move my daughter who is also going into the 11th grade if my husband was making a permanent job change. Ultimately keeping the family together is the most important and she will adjust. On a personal note, I don’t know if I will adjust to your move….

By ESR

June 26, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this

I was a product of busing for segregation in the south. I never attended the same high school two years in a row. Each year it was a new school the poor kids from our part of the city was bused to. Sometimes we’d travel by bus for 15 miles, right past the local high school that was about 2 miles from our house. Did I hate this? You bet I did. Looking back in that old famous hindsight is 20/20 sort of way, these changes helped me be able to handle the other changes that life would come to toss at me; changes sometimes I had little or no control over. In that journey I met a few people I still am friends with. It will work out for her. Good luck.

By Elaine

June 26, 2008 5:12 PM | Link to this

Abby, I will be sorry to see you & Paul leave if that is what you decide to do. But just think of the wonderful experience for all of you to live in Seattle. I’ve never been there but I hear it is amazing. You have to think of you & Paul first. In a few years your daughter will be on her own, maybe even working in a different city. If you don’t take this transfer and the job market fails here — where will you be?? I think your daughter will adjust because she is a very intelligent young lady. She is just afraid of the change. Good Luck

By Jill Kristal

June 26, 2008 5:17 PM | Link to this

Hi Abby,

Moving teens is very difficult. They are having a hard enough time figuring out who they are within an environment that is familiar. Trying to do that AND figure out what you are supposed to be wearing, listening to and doing to fit in makes a hard task so much harder. Helping families with the process of moving is an area of expertise of mine. I am a psychologist and have moved internationally with my own children. Please take a look at our website, www.transitionallearning.com. There is a card game that I developed with colleagues to help families talk about and plan for moving. The design on the cards is young, but we have found that the cards are particularly useful for teens. The questions help teens and parents ask, answer and find solutions to the difficulties of uprooting your life in one place and starting it over again in another. Please be in touch if you have any questions.

Jill Kristal

By CherylS

June 30, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this

As a child I was forced to move several times when my father was transfered with his job. Each time I hated leaving where we were, but it made me a much more resilient and independent person. It may be hard for her, but she’ll make new friends and have new experiences. Besides, if she plans to go away to college, she’ll have a head start on coping in a new environment.

By Kaitlyn

July 30, 2008 12:41 PM | Link to this

I’m 18 and just graduated from high school, though I’m not a parent and don’t yet know what position you’re in, I do however know your daughter’s. My parents made me and my sisters move when I was 15, so just a little bit younger than she is now. It was very traumatic for me. I had grown up in the same school system since Kindergarden. Honestly, it actually threw me into a depression and to be frank, I was thinking about killing myself. Now I’m not saying that your daughter will do that, it’s just what happened to me because I’d moved several times and had to switch schools, though it’d been 8 years. It was a slightly different situation because my parents were moving away from the city because they wanted to, and I didn’t know where or when I was moving when school got out. If it was for a job, I would have understood more, but it was because they wanted to. Plus, I’d always had a hard time with being picked on and making friends. So moving to a new school was terrifying and if I had my way, I wouldn’t have gone.

But in the long run, it changed me as a person, and I think it made me a better person. I learned that life isn’t fair and you can’t take what you have for granted. It also made it easier for me to leave everyone from my town for college. My advice is to just use your better judgement, like i said, I don’t quite know your position as a parent, I know hers. She’ll make a lot of new friends at her new school, and she might hold a grudge but I think later in life, she’ll understand.

I hope this helps. Kinda makes you think about it from her viewpoint.

By Kaitlynn

July 30, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this

I’m 18 and just graduated from high school, though I’m not a parent and don’t yet know what position you’re in, I do however know your daughter’s. My parents made me and my sisters move when I was 15, so just a little bit younger than she is now. It was very traumatic for me. I had grown up in the same school system since Kindergarden. Honestly, it actually threw me into a depression and to be frank, I was thinking about killing myself. In fact, I’m the same way still, I still haven’t forgiven my parents, even though I’ve gotten used to small town/farm life, I wish I was still in the city. Now I’m not saying that your daughter will do that, it’s just what happened to me because I’d moved several times and had to switch schools, though it’d been 8 years. It was a slightly different situation because my parents were moving away from the city because they wanted to, and I didn’t know where or when I was moving when school got out. If it was for a job, I would have understood more, but it was because they wanted to. Plus, I’d always had a hard time with being picked on and making friends. So moving to a new school was terrifying and if I had my way, I wouldn’t have gone. In fact,

But in the long run, it changed me as a person, and I think it made me a better person. I learned that life isn’t fair and you can’t take what you have for granted. It also made it easier for me to leave everyone from my town for college. My advice is to just use your better judgement, like i said, I don’t quite know your position as a parent, I know hers. She’ll make a lot of new friends at her new school, and she might hold a grudge but I think later in life, she’ll understand.

I hope this helps. Kinda makes you think about it from her viewpoint.