My initial reaction to the idea of moving to South Carolina, I will admit, was excitement. I felt as if suddenly, without any notice at all, my world was changing. Not only was my world changing, but I was given a new world. This new world had my room but painted with different colors, my teachers but with southern accents, and my school but built with walls. This new world for five months remained intimidating and exciting. I looked at this world with anticipation for something new and fresh. It is only now that I am realizing the impact that my old world has had on me.  As my furniture and memories of Buffalo are beginning to be packed and sent to my new home, I find my mind no longer daydreams of the sunshine in South Carolina. I never thought it would be easy to leave Buffalo, but I never thought it would be this difficult, either. My mind, strangely, has a tendency to drift to the snow that has forever been a nuisance to me. It used to be so bothersome, but now I see it as something so magical that I will not have. There are so many other things around Buffalo that I never valued, but now inhibit my mind. One of them, expectedly, is Williamsville East High School.  Coming into the school as a freshman, I remember watching the juniors and seniors and thinking they were the better two years of our high school. I should say I never ruminated over that thought, because at the time I knew my time would come. Everybody will have the chance to be a junior or senior in high school. It was just a matter of remaining patient. Now it is unbelievable, almost comical to me that I am leaving right before I reach my junior year of East High School. I thought that during the  final two years I would grow up and suddenly learn the lessons I needed to go to college. It was when I thought about going to my new school and how I would act that I realized I have already learned them.  Williamsville East has given me the tools to be able to handle myself in situations like the one I am walking into. I am nervous, of course I am nervous, but I know I will be able to hold myself up and speak as if I don’t have a care in the world. Not only has Williamsville East, but Buffalo as a whole has taught me lessons. The snow has taught me to remain patient, my friends have showed me that it is, in fact, possible to have a family outside of family, and the cold has taught me to never resent anything. My old world has been slowly molding me for sixteen years, and I never once realized it.  I will always remain grateful for everything Buffalo has given to me. Moving has put into perspective how wonderful Buffalo is, and how easy it is to forget the greatness of the things you are given. My new world is exciting and daring and adventurous, but my old world remains safe, steady, and calm. My old world remains a lesson.
by Erica Warren
