Ever since sophomore Sydney Lauer’s dad received a new job in Massachusetts back in November, her whole life has changed right before her eyes. As she spent her very last year in Grand Rapids, she stayed hopeful while cherishing the memories she has made.

“Moving has definitely affected my sophomore year,” Sydney said. “It was an excuse to always hang out with my friends, and I tried to make everything more memorable. I’m just trying to remember everything and everyone here and create more memories.”

Although things seemed shiny and new in the beginning, Sydney soon realized that everything she once knew was going to change, like the school she has attended since a little child.

“School [is going to be the hardest adjustement],” Sydney said. “It’s a different environment and different classes. FHC is a really good school, so we are looking for a good school there like it.”

Not only is she going to miss the school environment, but all the friends she has made throughout the years.

“I’m going to miss my friends the most,” Sydney said. “The Friday nights we sit in the basement and watch movies or The Office I’ll miss. I’ll miss all the traditions I have created with them.”

Although Sydney is leaving her friends and school, she thought she was going to get through it with her sister, but her sister will be off to college leaving Sydney to start her new life by herself.

“It’s going to be hard without my sister,” Sydney said. “At first I thought the move was going to be okay because I would have her at school, but then I realized she is a senior and [is] going to college. She’s the person I talk to about school stuff, but I won’t necessarily have that face-to-face connection with her anymore.”

Not only is Sydney’s sister leaving her, but Sydney is leaving almost half of her whole family behind back in Michigan.

“Basically all of my family lives here besides a few cousins and my aunt and uncle,” Sydney said. “I am really close with my family, but we are going to come home every holiday, which is mainly when I see them. It’s going to be sad, but I’ll still see them a lot.”

Even though she seems to be leaving her whole family by moving to Massachusetts, Sydney does have relatives that live in Massachusetts.

“My mom’s cousin, who is married and has a boat, lives in Massachusetts,” Sydney said. “We will do a lot of bonding with them, which makes the move a lot easier. I’ll have some people over the summer to hang out with, [so] it’s nice knowing that there’s at least someone there that I can contact.”

Massachusetts is going to be a big change, but ever since the news, Sydney has tried to stay on the positive side; however, sometimes she can’t help but mourn the life she’s leaving.

“[For] the first few months I was really excited,” Sydney said. “But then I started thinking about it a little more and got really sad because I’m leaving everything here. I’m happy and sad at the same time.”