One change has altered my perspective on roots, the idea of belonging to just one place.

On July 7th of last year, we started our journey in the land of the sun, where sandstorms are more common than rain falling from the skies. I remember looking out the window, staring at the openness of the landscape around me. The streets running parallel to the highway weren’t littered with malls, movie theaters or random business establishments. Instead, mountains surrounded us, the sharpness of the peaks poking the blue sky.

I immediately felt a sense of emptiness. And then the barrage of very random, but essential questions invaded my mind.

How would all this work? Would I learn to like Phoenix? Would my husband like his new job? Even though I had not practiced law in over two years, I started thinking, is the Arizona bar difficult? My thoughts then moved to my daughter. Would she like it? Would she like her new school? The questions blinked on and off, almost synchronized to the traffic lights on the street. With each new question, my level of panic increased.

To be honest, I didn’t want to start over. I was comfortable with my routines of the past. The familiarity of my Texas surroundings offered me relief. Why wouldn’t it? My family, everything I knew, was in Texas. It was my breath of fresh air. As we continued to drive, I noticed my breaths were shallow and short. The anxiety of the move was settling in, even if I didn’t want to acknowledge it.

A year later, I am a little surprised at myself. Intrinsically change isn’t something I always embrace, but I’ve readjusted.  Some days, I must confess (although I can’t believe I am saying this out loud, this secret I’ve kept to myself for the last few months): I like Arizona.

I can’t tell you when I came to this conclusion, but it happened. It feels a little strange, acknowledging it, but it is true. It has given me pause, coming to this realization. I’ve learned that roots can run deep, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn to appreciate a new place.

A single change, can lead to a chain reaction of things you never thought you would accept.

A year later this is what I’ve learned.

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How have you embraced change? What have you learned from it? Are you sometimes surprised at how quickly you can adjust to change?