All Around Girl
Before
I watch a girl who radiates joy. She has a spring in every step, a smile plastered across her face and her cheeks are rosy from the golden sun. Her messy braids, the freckles on her face, and the dirt under her fingernails and on her knees portrays effortless beauty of a young girl who is so content with her life. Without a care in the world she runs like the wind. Her backyard seems as if it stretches to the ends of the earth, It is her playground and her happy place. She stares at her run down yellow house and smiles, She knows every inch of the house like the back of her hand. This girl holds her friends close to her heart and her family even closer. This young girl has never experienced pain, she is overwhelmed by innocence and love in her heart. This Texas girl has never known change for this yellow house is all she knows and she couldn’t dream of anything other than it. I watch everyday and by this point I know that this street, whispering pines, is her safe haven.

during
Something is wrong, she is not the same. She seems like she has lost her bliss and her good cheer. I know why, the moving trucks will be here tomorrow. Today I watch as strangers come to spend the change in their pockets in exchanged for her memories. $30 for her childhood tea set, $10 for the collection of her favorite movies. The cats I used to see her love and care for were now being taken to new homes. Her best friend of 8 years sits by her side and holds her hand, just a couple weeks ago there was no talk of moving and everything was perfect. She shakes as if her world is crumbling around her because she feels scared, angry, sad and doubtful. Her face tells all, She does not want to leave. She will miss her friends, She doesn't want to be torn apart from her dad and her grandparents. This is a big change, and so sudden. She doesn’t want to leave home but this girl is as strong as the foundation that lies in her beloved yellow house. She won’t leave kicking and screaming. I have watched this Texas girl grow from just a little child into a mature teenage girl. I will miss her smile. I will miss the spring in her step. I will miss her rosy cheeks and her freckles.

After
Whispering pines has lived up to its name, without the girl in the yellow house. Yet I am not sad because she learned that where she lives does not define who she is. Her peace of mind and contentment returned as soon as she accepted the change in her life. She is still the same girl I used to know, but better and stronger. She gained experience, she learned things about herself that she did not know. She learned how to cherish her family and find happiness when it is tough. This girl still always has a smile on her face, She feels blessed and she loves where she is. A Texas girl can learn to love the snow. A Texas girl can make more friends than ever expected. A Texas girl has the heart to be happy after all the hard times she has been through. When she returns to her run down yellow house a tear will roll down her rosy cheeks and freckles as she remembers all the countless memories in flashbacks. She will radiate joy as she always does, now the Chicago girl.