Dee 1

Taylor Dee
EN 101
Stevens
11 November, 2022

3,000 Miles

The hot, humid air, the smell of cardboard, and the sound of echoing footsteps in an empty
house. Unpacking the stacks of heavy boxes, while boxing up my true feelings about my Dad
moving to Alabama. This was the summer of 2020.

I sat on the plane, looking out of the window, sitting alone next to a complete stranger. All I
could think about was my family being a little under 3,000 miles away. I would be going from
seeing them every week, to every couple of months. I’ll have to see my brother and sister grow
up in increments. Then I thought about all the special moments I'll miss out on. The family
dinners I won’t be a part of, the trips I won’t be able to go on, and the family movies I won't be
able to watch. All of those thoughts and feelings hit me like a bus. Suddenly, the passing clouds
turned blurry as small drops of water seeped into my mask.

I pulled myself together quickly as I told myself, “they’re doing what's best for them and the kids
are going to have a better opportunity there.” This made me feel better as that's exactly what I
wanted: them having a better life there with more opportunities. I truly just wanted everyone to
be happy no matter how I felt. Having all of this in mind, I tried to mentally prepare myself for
what was going to happen after I stepped off the plane, or just the entire one month trip in
general.

The thing is though, I really didn't know what I was getting ready for. I just knew that after
getting to the house, it would be time to unpack. As much as I tried, you can only prepare
yourself for so much.

With every new box, came a new memory.

“Hey Taylor, remember this?” said my dad while holding up a little yellow rag while putting his
car wash things away in the garage.

“Yeah I definitely do,” I replied as I got a flashback of my dad and I smacking each other with
them one of the times we washed the cars together. I responded with laughter, but I really just
wanted to cry. Washing cars was our thing to do together in California but this isn’t California
anymore. The reality was slowly setting in.

At the time, if you told me that I'm going to end up being okay, I don’t know if I would have
believed you. But maybe that’s just because the Taylor who existed in 2020 didn’t know what
okay looks like.
 Dee 2

Today, okay looks like sending them texts when I miss them, calling my dad when I have a
question about my car, and calling my stepmom when I need advice about boys. Okay looks like
having a second home with a family who truly cares about me no matter the distance.

June of 2020 Taylor didn’t realize that good things can come from the bad.

Fairhope, Alabama has created so many new opportunities for me. I’ve been able to make new
friends, explore new places, and even find my favorite coffee shop. It's given me the ability to
see different places, eat new foods, become aware of southern hospitality, and experience the
different types of weather.

Sitting on that plane, looking out at the blurry clouds I could barely see, I truly never thought I'd
be able to say that I’m grateful for their move. Of course there are going to be family dinners I
won’t be a part of, trips I won’t go on, and family movies I won’t watch, but I'll still be able to
see my brother and sister grow up and talk to my dad and stepmom on FaceTime. Although, it's
still just as hard not being able to get in the car and drive to my dad's house whenever I want to,
they will always be a phone call away. Just because my family is nearly 3,000 miles away
doesn’t mean they’re that far in my heart.