Izma Mir '24 Recruiting Profile

 It Will Never be the Same

My dad came home from a long day of work and said “this apartment is so small that it’s starting to feel suffocating,” and everyone in our family agreed, myself included. The one apartment bedroom was not only located in an unsafe neighborhood, but was also undersized. The room with the most walking space was the bathroom. When my parents informed me that we were moving, I didn't think much of it. The only thing I cared about was that I would get to choose the biggest bedroom in the new house because of “oldest sibling privilege.” I always dreamt of having my own bedroom after sharing a bedroom with four other people for my whole life. I started to get excited about moving. I even chose out the paint color for my new bedroom. Little did I know my life was about to go downhill. The dark and atrocious paint shade was named “alter ego,” which reflected in the mental and physical changes I experienced as I transitioned into my new life on Long Island.

On the very first day of junior year, it hit me that moving was a mistake. My classes seemed difficult and students had already formed their “cliques.” Everyone around me seemed so ambitious and overly confident, so I immediately felt out of place. I missed my box, my bubble, my comfort zone, and my people. At my old school I would have been captain of my basketball team for two consecutive years. I felt as if I had lost all my connections, my happiness, and my joy, and that has made everything in my life one hundred times significantly harder. The transition was harder than I could have ever imagined. 

My parents never understood how much this move impacted me, given that junior year is one of the most important years of high school. Not only did I feel isolated, but I also felt stressed about academics. Rather than getting discouraged, I decided to make some changes. I joined the cross country team, started going to the gym with new friends in my neighborhood, and branched outside of my comfort zone to be more involved in my community and school. I even started volunteering at my local mosque, where I was later employed throughout the summer. I had the opportunity to teach young children in the mosque about religion and basketball. I even got to chaperone their trips across Long Island, allowing me to become more familiar with this new place. Additionally, I had my parents enroll me in tutoring sessions so that I could excel academically in my academically challenging classes.

Although I was pushing myself physically and mentally, I still ended up nearly failing two classes and gaining thirty pounds. I still felt isolated and overwhelmed at times, but I didn’t lose hope. I still have room for improvement in my academic and social life, but taking it day by day has allowed me to learn and grow at my own pace. I channeled my art skills into creating beautiful and colorful paintings to brighten up my room, and this process was very therapeutic and healing for me. As I transition into college, I know I will be faced with these changes again. However, after my moving experience, I am much more mentally equipped to acclimate to these changes and excel socially and in my classes. This time around, I am approaching change with optimism and determination.