moving can be joyful or dreadful

By Karen M

Jhester Naval is a 15-year-old junior at Yerba Buena High School. Born in San Jose, California, he had a rough experience with moving to Tracy during 6th grade.

His experience with moving was rather sad at the time due to the fact that his grandfather had passed away. It was a bit traumatizing, he said. Discovered things and experiences he enjoyed or didn’t along the time he was living in Tracy.

In 2016, during 6th grade at age 11 he and his family moved to Tracy.

His first thoughts on moving was happiness because his family was in a bad living situation. So that meant he was going to have a new home. Also because it was his first time moving away from San Jose.

His family had to move because his family was evicted from their home and they had to move in with his aunt. But his aunt's home was only a three bedroom. She also had people renting those rooms at the time. So it was overcapacity.

At first it was joyful, when Naval first thought of moving away to a new place. When they decided as a family Tracy would be the place to go to, he says, ‘’I was in shock really. The moving experience was terrible. I did not enjoy it at all.’’

Of his experience living there, Naval says “Tracy was boring, people were different and more social. At school my personality didn’t match with everyone. Everyone was too outgoing. I didn’t have a lot of friends.’’

One bright side for him was the food at school and library. “The food was good though in the cafeteria, I also loved the books in the library like Manga,” says Naval.

The worst part about moving to Tracy for Naval was that he had to leave his friends and family back at San Jose. He said, ‘’I felt really sad but excited to experience living in another area.”

Also he had to go to a whole new school as well. It was hard for him to make new friends at first. So he would go to school but he would go straight to the library to read books. One specific type of book he was interested in is called Manga.

He also missed the lifestyle in San Jose. The entertainment that San Jose brings. Like downtown, sites to see, and overall fun. Tracy is really boring to him and there was not much to even do.

During 2017, is when Naval moved back after the school year was over. One reason his family returned was because his dad had to commute back and forth from Tracy to San Jose for work. And because of that, Naval would have less time to see his dad during weekdays.

Another reason they moved back was because he and his family were missing relatives back home at San Jose. They would come visit every weekend to see the rest of the family. They had sleepovers most of the time.

“Tracy is quiet and safe, and you're able to walk alone at night in the streets,” said Naval.

He also liked that all shopping centers were all nearby and within a good walking distance.

But he much prefers San Jose and is thankful for his family supporting him throughout their time moving to and from there.