Justin Ryker Swick

Justin Ryker Swick

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Where are you from?


"Where are you from?"  This is a question that for a lot of people is really easy to answer.  My husband for instance can answer this question without skipping a beat.  He lived in the same area during his whole childhood.  He went to the same school K-12th grade and when he went to college he was only 35 miles from home, so when he gets asked this question it is simple for him to say, "I am from Northeast Nebraska" or "I went to school in Newcastle." For me on the other hand, this has always been a question I have dreaded answering.  Between Kindergarten and 12th grade, I had moved 14 times and attended 11 different schools, all over Iowa and in Florida.  I am not an Army brat, my parents just moved a lot. :)  I am not complaining, however, it is things such as these that has shaped me into the person I am today, some good and some bad.  In fourth grade my parents separated then got back together, same with fifth, and in sixth I spent in entire year at one school.  Then in Seventh grade they decided to get divorced.  I moved down to Florida with my mom and my soon-to-be stepdad and my sisters.  This was a HUGE adjustment for me! Things are already hard for 12 year old girl, but when you add a whole new life to the mix, a new family, a new school, new friends, and living in a completely different area, it tends to take it's toll.  I moved back in with my dad half way through my Seventh grade year, after already being in two different schools in Florida once my mom and step-dad bought a house that was in a different school district than we had lived in when we first moved down.  The next few years were really hard for me, and I made it REALLY hard on the people around me.  I resented my mom for moving, for throwing me into this new life, and most of all for not understanding how I was feeling.  It took a long time for our relationship to get back to "good" after that year.    I moved back down to Florida right after school at the end of my Sophomore year.  I ended up graduating from a school in Florida, and then going back up to Nebraska for college.  So...where am I from??? A little bit of every where! :)  But as of right now, God has brought us to a sweet little town in north central Iowa.  We are purchasing a house that my grandparents lived in for 44 years, in Alden, Iowa

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