From Cali to Kansas

By Micah Fabarez

 

 

                As this month’s theme is about transitions, I am going to be describing all of the moves I have had to go through as a child. As I am the only person in journalism who has moved repeatedly at an old enough age to remember it, it is fitting that I describe the process that I went through every time I got to a new city. When I was born in San Diego in 1994, my family moved a few weeks later to Seattle, Washington where we spent the first few years of my life. Both the move there and the move back I don’t remember, so they don’t really count towards the amount of moves, but my first memory was in my backyard in Seattle, playing golf, which fittingly enough, has started tournament play already this year.

                My real first home was in La Mirada, California. It was a yellow house on the corner of the street, and it had several big trees in the front yard along with a bricked-in garden. We would always go over to our neighbor’s house and pick fresh lemons from their lemon tree to make lemonade. It wasn’t in a bad part of the neighborhood, but it wasn’t in the really good part either. To prove this point, a dangerous criminal was cornered on the roof of said neighbor’s house and was actually gunned down while they were in the house!! It was a little alarming, since it was the across-the-street neighbor. We lived for a total of 7 years in California, not counting the few weeks after I was born.

                In 2005, I moved to Kansas and was introduced to a whole new world of opportunities. Although I also had some opportunities that were no longer available since I was no longer in a large urban environment, but I think the change was for the better for me. In California, it was common to have at least one fist fight every week and that was while I was in elementary school! I think that the environment is a lot better for a kid to grow up in the Midwest because you get the opportunity to learn more practical techniques like welding, auto tech, and carpentry. Back in California, my brother’s coolest class was one for ancient world history where they dressed in authentic Roman and Greek military garb. But I am also looking forward to the next transition in my life, going to college in Hays. It will be yet another new experience in the story of my life.