By: Claire Li

After unplugging my charger from my empty bedroom, I put all the suitcases I had filled in the trunk of our car. The BMW car my parents owned was getting quite old, with more scratches and stains than I could ever remember. When we first moved to Michigan, the car was brand new. My mom and I were amazed by how cool and sporty the car was. The car was light pink too, my favorite color.
My dad entered the driver’s seat. “Ready to go?” he asked.

“You know what, I think I’ll have a last look at the house,” I replied.

I opened the door and entered the house again. Looking at the place where our leather sofa used to be, it brought back memories. The dining table, our TV, my bed…they were all gone. As if thinking they were still there, I touched the places our furniture used to all be. It felt empty. This was different than when we first moved into this place. Our house was also empty then, but this was…different. When we first moved in, I saw a house filled with potential. I wondered about all the ways I could decorate my room, fill it with bows, and paint the walls pink. Our house felt full back then when it was new with all the imaginative ideas I had.

But now, it felt…strangely empty. I looked into my room. The walls were still light pink, but it was missing my feminine charm. I remembered what the room looked like before…filled with my collection of Sanrio characters, bows, and other cute pink trinkets. I couldn’t help but feel like I’d left behind a part of myself. There are plenty of homes out there, but this home was OUR home. It was the home I swept and cleaned and wiped down so many times, the home I had decorated with my obsession with pink. The home with a wasp nest behind our floorboards that I had to clean for weeks. The home that I had to repair for months to fix all the broken holes and creaky stairs. The home that was not big, but was cozy. The home that I grew up with, and the home that I’d grown to love. I felt the tears in my eyes, but I wiped them away remembering that whenever I would think of snowy Michigan or pink, I’d always be reminded of my home.

It was time for a new house, a new era. I went out the door, entering our car again.

“Ok, let’s go,” I said.

Image Credit by Ketut Subiyanto