Last summer, the only constant in my life was my home. My home included my family, my friends, my small hometown in Pennsylvania, my job at my mother’s coffee shop and the house where I spent my entire adolescence. I was the only factor changing as I left for school eight hours away. I felt that change was a good thing. I was sad to leave, but I knew I could always go back to my home.

This summer that has all changed. My best friend since I was six months old decided on a school 15 hours away from me. My father found a new job in Pittsburgh. This meant that my family had to move away, leaving behind a home that we had designed.

I arrived home to find a new dynamic and more changes. Soon, my job as a barista would come to an end. I watched as my family scurried to find a new home and to sell our old home. I spent a large part of the summer stuck in my own head, trying to comprehend all of the changes. The place that I had called home, the place that I had some of my best and worst memories, was slipping away. I started to realize that maybe I did not like change. All I had ever wanted was to get out of my small town, and now I felt my heart hurt at the thought of my family leaving it. I definitely did not like change.

It can feel like a lot. It feels like the whole world is ending and that nothing will ever be the same. This summer, I have been thinking and thinking about this concept of change. Change is inevitable and it is a part of life. We cannot always control it nor can we fight against it. By fighting against it, we will never move forward nor will we find what we are looking for. Focusing on the negativity that can come from change leads one away from the happiness that can be found in the change.

I have come to the conclusion that while change is not my first preference for my life, it is something that I must accept. Once one accepts change, one must see the positives in change. There is no sense in looking at all of the negatives and not the positives.

A person is not the only thing that changes. Everything around them is always changing and nothing can be left constant. And finally, while things may change, it is not the change that has affected you, but it is the way you make the most of that change. It may be hard to accept at first, but changes always lead us farther in life. I see change as something that happens for a reason, whether we like it or not.

My family will never live in our old house again nor will they live in my hometown. I will never stay at UMass forever nor will I be staying much longer. Change is difficult, but I know that after this summer everything is going to be okay. And for anyone else who hates change: it gets better with time and understanding.

Emilia Beuger is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at [email protected].