The fear of moving to an unfamiliar place, where you don’t know anybody and nobody knows you, is a persistent fear in many human minds. However, it may be difficult to imagine being the new kid more than 20 times.

Sophomore Aidan White and junior Brooklynn White are Maize High siblings who have moved more times than most, having to move away from friends and family many times.

“My biological dad was in the military,” Aidan said. “My stepdad is a carpenter and my mom was a Marine. So we moved because of the military. I moved a lot. He got stationed at Fort Stewart, got transferred down here at McConnell, and then just transferred around a lot.”

Both Brooklynn and Aidan are used to the moving process and the experience of being new to school. 

“It’s been hard moving, to be honest,” Brooklynn said. “Like, it seems like an easy thing to do, but we were never just moving houses or schools. We were losing friends, losing our comfortableness with our environment, getting lost because one school was doing something curriculum-wise and our next school was probably doing something completely different, sometimes we were even moving between our parents’ houses and leaving them and our siblings behind.”

Oftentimes, the two had to rely on each other for support.

“I rely on my sister a lot,” Aidan said. ”My sister has been a big part of my life, she’s helped me through all of the stuff. She’s been there since I was born.” “I don’t usually make friends because when I do make friends, I get close and then I leave, it just not only hurts me, but it also hurts the people I get close to.”

Aidan and Brooklynn still experience difficulty moving from place to place, and it still takes a toll on them mentally.

“No matter how many times I move, I cry every time I hug someone goodbye for what feels like the last time, tape that last box up, close the truck’s gate,” Brooklynn said. “It doesn’t really get easier, but, somehow, you get used to it being difficult.”

Despite moving so frequently, Aidan and Brooklynn still have fond memories of living together with their other siblings.

“Outside of the process of moving, I’ve definitely got some memories in each house that I will always love and cherish,” Brooklynn said. “Me and my brothers playing on a very questionable rope swing, meeting my best friend for the first time, my sisters and Aidan and I dancing in our driveway in the rain, all the meals I’ve cooked with my mom and stepmom in different kitchens, watching my mom and stepdad slow dance in the living room, and sharing a room was always and still is an interesting experience.“