Five days before the start of the school year Junior Sarah Swinford packed her bags and moved from Germany to the United States. Swinford is originally from Houston and moved to Germany when she was 9 years old. After 8 years, Swinford was able to move to her home town again.

“When I learned that I could go back to the United States, I was actually really, really happy,” Swinford said. “I missed my home. I missed being here and speaking English. I wanted to move back to Houston for so long.”

Although Swinford wanted to come back home, it was still hard for her to leave behind the life she had in Germany.

“It was weird because when I learned that we were actually moving back it hit me,” Swinford said. “I am going to leave all my friends. I am going to leave my whole life. I’m going to have to start all over again. It was shocking.”

However, Swinford stayed strong and moved to Houston because she knew that she had to try. Even if it didn’t work out, she felt that she could go back to Germany anytime.

“I think it was just the fact that I wanted to come back for so long, and I thought that I just have to go through this,” Swinford said. “I also knew that I could always go back because I speak German and there are opportunities there. I really did not want to leave, but I also really wanted to come back.”

When she first moved to Germany, Swinford was confused and scared, but over-time it became the norm.

“I had no idea where I was going,” Swinford said. “I knew that there was a different language, but I didn’t know how different it would be. I had no idea what was going on. It took me about 6 months to learn the language so that I could speak to people and finally feel comfortable talking to people. After a year, I made a lot of friends, and I was used to it.”

Similarly, on the first day of school, Swinford was anxious because of how different everything was for her.

“The first day was very nerve-racking because it was so different,” Swinford said. “Everyone knows where they are going. You have a schedule and you switch classes, but in Germany you pretty much stay in the same classroom. Here it is like you have your own schedule and you cannot follow anyone else.”

Even though it is different, Swinford is enjoying her time.

“I like it. It is very different from what I am used to, but I really, really like it. The people here are super nice and so far it has been a good experience.”