This document summarizes the challenges a teenager faced after moving in with their father following a custody change. They went from seeing their mother everyday to only a few times a month, which was emotionally difficult. Their life became more hectic living with their father, two step-siblings, and another adult, compared to just their mother previously. A year later, they still feel out of place living in the larger household and missing their mother, though they are amazed that they are surviving the difficult transition period.

1. Thank you all in advance for helping me withthis! I'm planning on reusing this essay with some
corrections formy Common app, although it was written for my UC app. One of the problems I'm
having is the lack of flow between sentences and paragraphs that make my essay, as a whole,
confusing and incoherent. If youhave any suggestions on how to improve that, I'd very much
appreciate it, and of course anything else youthink I should fix!! THANK YOU ALL!!! & Happy
Holidays!!
Sometimes, the third time's actually the charm. But that wasn'twhat I was thinking about when I
ran into my parents' arms at the airport. Having only seen them twice in nine years, I couldn't
believe that this time, there was no time restriction on how long I could be held by Mommy or how
long I could play with Daddy. I was overwhelmedwith joy at the thought of living with them.
Raised by my twograndparents, I grew up in small city called Anyang in mainland China. My
grandparents fed me, dressed me, lovedme. They did everything parents were expected to do and
more. Grandpa wokeup early on Sunday mornings to buy my favoritebreakfast food and Grandma
stayed up to hold me in her arms whenever I fellill. I was happy and spoiled by their love.
But the worldwouldn't stop reminding me about the one missing link in my almost-perfect life –
my parents. Through the few photo albums and my grandparents' stories, I learned that Mommy
and Daddy made the decision to have my grandparents raise me only because they didn't want me
to suffer the hardships they had to endure in America. I learned that my parents were endeavoring
to obtain a green card so I could be reunited withthem. And despite it all, I still cried on some
nights. I cried about how deprived I was to grow up withoutmy parents and hoped forchange, but
those tears evoked nothing except more self-pity and fear. I was afraid, afraid that my parents
didn't love me enough.
When the opportunity to moveto America came within my reach, I saw it as my chance to earn my
parents' love.But as I packed my life into three suitcases, little did I know just how much life would
change. The year after I immigrated, life was just short of excruciating. At school, I felt out-of-place
and alone, with my bowl-cuthairstyle and out-of-fashiontights. At home, my parents forbade me
from speaking Mandarin in hopes of accelerating my English learning. And no matter where I was, I
always missed my loving grandparents.
Learning to accept my new lifewas the biggest challenge. Deep down, I'd alwaysknown that my old
world was only 13 hours away by plane, yet I felt so distanced. Distanced, because I knew that
although my old worldwas placed on pause the moment I left, my friends and family'sworld was
not. Everythingbegan slipping away.And as I strove to relive the pleasant memories, I began
making necessary associations between the people and places of both my old and new life.
Perhaps that's when I first opened my eyes. OnceI actually began seeing my new world, I couldfeel
the two vastly different worlds merging together. I began seeing in my new classmates the smiles of
my best friends and hearing in the new music the same beats of my favoritesongs. I began
recognizing the human kindness that I remembered from my hometown in the strangers beside me.

2. Howeversubtle these associations may have been, they made me feel more at home as I began
making sense of my new surroundings. It was more than just a relief to know that a pat from a
teacher in America meant the same as one in China. I had discovered that some things never
changed, no matter where I go.
I found myself making not only connections, but also new friends while experiencing new thrills
and even enjoying life a little. Though the magic didn't workovernight, in time, I was no longer the
invisible girl who sat in a corner. In a sense, I became more me -- more like the girl who happily
jumped rope with friends and eagerly shared her daily adventures with family. I'dmore than just
accepted life; I had learned to love it.
Life for me was very hard when my habitat changed. One year ago, I went through a
custody change. After living with my mother my whole life, I moved in with my father when
I was 13. Now it feels as though I have been put into someone else’s body. Since I am
still going through these times, I am greatly amazed I am surviving.
After I moved, seeing my mom was very emotional for me. I had to go from seeing my
mother every day to seeing her maybe 5 times a month if I am lucky. This made it hard on
my life since I knew I could no longer go to my mom when I needed her. Now I had a new
person that was pretty much a stranger that I had to go to. My father was really never there
for me as a child. I mean yes I saw him on the occasional Wednesday and every other
weekend but that is not very much for a kid. My father left me when I was about 6. Now it
feels as though that is the same route my mother is taking right now at this very moment. I
barley see my mother now a days so she has become a total stranger. All of these changes I
myself a going through it makes it uneasy for me to see her.
Then, my life got very hectic when the house grew to 3 siblings and 2 adults as opposed to
just my mother and occasionally my sister who has been on her own for some time now.
Now some things are just like a mile away and every step I take towards it, it gets farther
and farther away from me. The times that I want to just break out and be free from all of
this pain and anguish it just makes me feel unwanted anymore. Now I have to l listen to my
two-step sisters and my stepbrother just bicker back and fourth with me. At first I was like
“Ok its nothing big. All they want to do is make you feel out of place and later you will fit
in―. Now after a year I feel as though the little voice inside of my head guided me through
these measures I took with my life. For example if my brother or sisters want to just