Junior Year

Moving
The idea of moving has always been an exciting idea in my mind. Having a new house with new surroundings to explore has constantly appealed to me. I have only moved one and a half times in my life, and they weren’t even really what I would call an actual big move. I will be experiencing my first real move in the coming up year and I can’t wait for it!
I moved once when I was two, from the heart of Chicago to the house that I have lived in since then. The house is in the heart of Lake Bluff, it’s in east Lake Bluff, on Center Avenue which is two or three blocks away from most of the activity within Lake Bluff. Going east three blocks you will find gorgeous Lake Michigan at your feet. Turning to go west I live three blocks away from modern downtown Lake Bluff with everything it has to offer. That house is what I think of when I think of my childhood. All of my experiences and memories are in it and the different bedrooms that I have lived in within it. I never expected to love any other house as much as that one, but during the end of fifth grade my mind was altered. In 2002 my fifth grade year, my parents got a divorce. My mom moved out of the house I grew up in, to a smaller more homely house about a half of a mile away from the Center Ave house. Although this was a new surrounding for my brother and mom, it wasn’t for me. The house that we moved into was sold to us by my best friend’s family, the O’Connors. Since I had played and had sleepovers there for years, I knew all of the little hiding spots and interesting parts of the house. My new bedroom was my best friend Maggie’s old one, so that was even less interesting. Buying a fresh bedroom set for my new bedroom was unfamiliar and exciting, but moving into the house and bedroom itself was old and boring.
I have now has two houses for six years, and one for fourteen. I love both the exact same. To me they are both home, I have so many memories and experiences in both that I will never forget. Since 7th grade though, I have been looking for a big change and a new setting. I have tried rearranging my furniture or get new furniture and nothing seems to be quite right. I think it’s finally time for my first real move, and I am glad to know the rest of my family feels the same way.
Three years ago my mom was introduced to my best friend’s father whose wife had past away. From that day on I have never seen two people more in love, or wanting to be together all of the time. My best friend Jessie and I love it since now we are like sisters! For the past three years both of our families have been getting closer and used to the extravagant idea of being together all of the time. Since our parents are basically inseparable, moving in together has turned from just a notion to a set plan. The basic plan is to sell both houses and make one roof over all of our heads. Neither of our houses has enough space to move everyone into, so we are going to start fresh with a brand new home. The idea of moving took time for every one to grasp, especially for Jessie, and her older sister Brittney. The transition to my mom becoming the main female figure in their lives was difficult when their mother was suddenly struck with colon cancer. Then a little over a year later my mom stepped into the picture. It was most essential for the girls to become comfortable with the relationship before any moving decisions were made. Now that three years has past everyone is comfortable and used to the family that has developed.
Spending time together really isn’t the main issue though. We all get along great and don’t mind sharing space, but finding the perfect house to combine our families is the much bigger issue at hand. Although we have made little effort to sell our houses yet, we are getting a jump start on finding one. We have been looking for that perfect house within Lake Bluff and Lake Forest for the past five months, and have found nothing that everyone has absolutely adored. Finding the perfect house is difficult because, all six family members have different ideas for their ideal house. When it actually comes down to picking the house we are going to live in and come home from college to, the adults, John and Carrie get to decide. All four kids have made it crystal clear that we get to have a heavy input though. Since the oldest Brittney, Jessie’s sister, is in her second year at Portland State and plans to only come home for holidays and some short visits, she doesn’t care where we live as long as she has the things she left behind in it.
Besides Brittney though, the rest of us cannot agree on any one house. It seems as though out of everyone my mom has the most input. She refuses to look at, or live in anything that isn’t to her liking. Her ideal house would be a nice ranch house with four bedrooms. She wants the master bedroom to have a huge closet for all of her clothes and shoes with also enough space to share with John. Also her ideal house would have, 3 bathrooms, a gorgeous granite kitchen with lots of storage space, a laundry room, some kind of basement whether its completely done or not at all, a dining room big enough to fit her grandfathers wood carved 9 ft table, a comfortable homely feeling living room with room for many couches and chairs that everyone can sit around in and have long conversations. Also she would love, either in the kitchen, living room or dining room a huge open window which everyone can look at us through as if we are fish in a fish bowl. She wants a big room for her office, since she works in the house it has to be away from any room that could potentially have a lot of noise in it. The space would be used by everyone though for working and homework, so it has to be big enough to have many tables and chairs. John has the second most input on the house he wants, but his lists of ideals are not half as long as my mothers. Since he is a pretty laid back guy, he mostly agrees with everyone my mom wants and is very flexible. The other things he would love are a large garage to fit at least two cars, and have storage space for all of his painting equipment. He will not move into any house without land, because he wants to be able to plant in the front and he has the idea of putting a pool or hot tub in the back. Besides that he is easy going and will agree with the rest of our decisions.
The three of us children have the most on their list of ideals but have the least amount of say in our new house. Although we agree with many things our parents like, we do have some little things that completely disagree with them also. My younger brother Bowen (14), who will be living in the house longer then any of the kids has the next amount of say in the house. Bowen is also laid back and chill, and could really care less about the house accept for his bedroom, the basement, and the land. He wants a big bedroom, since he has been stuck in a closet sizes room for years. He would love to have his bedroom be the only one in the newly done completely carpeted basement, so that he can claim the best part of the house to himself. Bowen wants to have a big backyard to either fit a pool or hot tub, but more importantly that there is room to fit his beloved trampoline. Although his list is short, it is precise and unless he gets one of the three things he asks for I know that he will be upset. He already has somewhat of a problem with moving, so he will refuse to move if he isn’t happy.
Next on the list is my best friend Jessie. Jessie takes after her father when it comes to being laid back and flexible, although she has sternly stated her wants and needs for the house. Jess completely agrees with my mom on that fact that the house should be a ranch. She loves the homely and comfortable feeling to it. Her bedroom has to be away from everyone else’s and if possible away from any big rooms where large groups of people could interfere with her space. She likes to be left alone and distant from everyone at times. Jessie would love a bedroom big enough for two dressers, her queen sized bed, a nice sized closet, and her TV. She would like a newly done kitchen with plenty of storage space and refrigerator space for large amounts of food. The basement has to be big enough to have lots of people in, and in a perfect house there would be a bar. The garage has to be able to fit at least two cars, with room to still store her junk. She would love to have a deck with a pool and hot tub on it, and a small screened in porch looking out to the backyard. The farther away the parent’s bedroom is from this backyard, the better. Besides these things, she isn’t asking for much more. Even if all of these ideals aren’t met, as long as she has a bedroom far away from everyone else’s she will be happy.
Last on the list, with definitely not the least amount of ideals is me! Although I agree with a lot of things on everyone’s list, I have many more wants and detailed ideas for our new house. Starting with the house itself, I don’t want to live in a ranch. I won’t refuse to live in one, but I would rather have a two story house instead. The more space between everyone I think is for the best. I would love to have a bedroom with space for my dresser, desk, and bed, along with a couch if I wanted to add it. Having plenty of wall space to hang countless picture frames is a necessity. To have a walk in closet with room to hang shirts and pants, and have places for shoes would be amazing. My absolute dream would be to have my own bathroom within my room. Besides my bedroom the only other most important thing to me is the basement. I have wanted a huge carpeted gorgeous basement to hang out in for years. Room to put a pool table, or ping pong table in along with a great TV is exactly what I am looking for. I know that all three kids completely agree on our ideal basement, which makes finding it a little easier. Besides that I agree with Jessie and my mom on the kitchen and really the rest of the rooms. I would love to be able to have an office space that is quite to do my homework, and a kitchen with lots of food space and a granite counter tops. Any other room that is big enough so everyone can be together at the same time is perfect in my head. That makes my mom’s idea for the living room and Jessie’s idea for the screened in porch great. Having a pool and hot tub on a beautiful wood deck would be an awesome addition to my ideal house also. With everyone having different ideal ideas makes finding one house for six people very difficult. Even though we haven’t found that exact house yet, I believe that when the time comes and we are in dire need for a house, the perfect one will be ready.
Sixteen years of my life has gone by and I have had little experience about moving. For the past five years I have been anxiously waiting for some kind of change in my life. After waiting for so long, finally being able to start a plan and express my thoughts about it is the most incredible feeling ever. Now that the time is flawless I am ready, my extreme change is going to occur and I have never been more ecstatic in my life!



I remember writing this story and just really wanting to focus on what everyone's thoughts were and how they all combined together. I think this made for a confusing piece which is something i would go back and change if I were to re-write this. After reading this story and looking at my life now, nothing has changed. I think this is funny because in this piece I talk about how excited I am to move, yet we still haven't. This piece though makes me laugh because of how exciting I was at the time about moving. Obviously I wanted to move badly enough to write a paper about all of the different ideal houses because it was on my mind so often. I think I could have focused this paper more, it is kind of all over the place and if I were to re-write it I think I would take it in a different direction and focus on myself more than the thoughts of all other 4 members of my family.