The environment you grow up in shapes you so much because
you sometimes have control over the environment and other times you don't. I grew up in so many different environments because of my parent's divorce and each one shaped
me differently.

 

The first environment I grew up in was my childhood home. This
is where I made my first friends and spent a lot of my childhood.
I lived in my childhood home my entire life so it has always been
a very important environment for me. But after my parents divorced I was also staying at my grandmother's with my mom. I was able to spend more time with my grandparents and
this time allowed me to become closer with them.

 

After this, we moved around a lot. I was still at my dad's house,
my childhood home, every week but I was also moving around
with my mom a lot. We first moved in with her new boyfriend and this environment helped me understand how even as a child of someone your feelings and needs may be forgotten. Though my mom was always attentive to us, she did move in with her boyfriend who didn't have any space for us. This re-sulted in us not having much of a room and my brother and I had to share one.

 

Once we moved out of this environment, we went to a much more secluded place. This house only had a few people around
it and the people I did meet were very different from others I knew at my dad's house. Some people were less privileged and there were quite a few people who lived in one house.

 

After this, we moved to a different apartment and this was one of the first times I experienced so many different environments.
I made so many different friends and each one had such a different house. Kayla had parents who were addicts, so we sometimes weren't able to go over to her house. Lauren had a mom who was always around but I never remember her having
a dad. Abby and her sister had a house that was never really fully cleaned but they always had so many toys. Maddie was an only child so she got whatever she wanted.

Being part of all of these environments, even for a small amount
of time, showed me not only how different my life was but also
how good my life was. I may have been going through some hard things, but I always knew that others had it worse than me
and I feel that allowed me to be thankful for everything my mom and dad provided for me.