In the media today, the image of a ‘perfect family’ is that of your average suburban family, with 2.4 children, living in a perfect neighbourhood with a white picket fence. Oh, how I longed for that as a child. While my friends were wishing for ponies and bikes on their birthdays, I wished for something quite different. Stability. I wished that just for once we would stay in one house, and at least pretend for a while that we were the ‘perfect’ family that I wished we could be.

Unfortunately, as you and I both know, wishing upon stars and wishes made on birthday candles do not usually come true. Reality kicks in. The reality for me was the continuous movers that came in and out of my home, and the friends that I would have to say goodbye to. It was a “new experience” my parents would say, a “new and exciting place” they would add. Well, the truth was that although it was a new experience, and indeed usually a new and exciting place, what they didn’t know was that my heart would break every time I would have to say goodbye to friends, and every time we moved, I would become that much more cynical and guarded for the next place.

For those of you who have moved to different schools, I’m sure you would remember what it feels like to be the ‘new girl’ who is constantly judged, and examined.

So here I am, in the next place. The new place. And no, I will not bother unpacking this time, as I already know that in not long we will be somewhere else, and all of the people I’ve met here I will have to say a tearful good bye to, yet again. Is there a point? Making friends? It only leads to painful good byes in the long run. Is it worth it? Trying at school? They’re only going to hold you back at the next school because its a different curriculum.
In short, I should have known better. I should have known that wishes don’t come true. My mother loves moving, and says I need to open my horizons. Today she said that she “fancies a change” and that we should move somewhere else. See. I told you there was no point unpacking. What she doesn’t understand is how much it will break my heart to leave this place and the people I have met here. However, I know that she just simply does not care. If I do want that stability, that feeling of knowing where you’re going to be in the next year, then I guess I’ll just have to wait until I’m by myself. That is, the only person you can ever count on. Yourself.