A New Start

1994 Crossbridge Court, St. Charles, Missouri. That’s the address I had memorized before Kindergarten. But not since birth, it was new when I was 4. I don’t remember moving much, I was too little. But I do remember the first time I walked into my new life at 1994 Crossbridge Court, St. Charles, Missouri. The house was empty, big, and unusual. It had stairs that went down instead of up and a massive table already built into the kitchen. I ran around, ready for the new life I had just begun.

The First Time I Saw Snow

It was cold. We moved in November. Mom had to go out and buy a ton of huge puffy clothes for us.

“They’re for when it snows.” she says, and I don’t think I fully comprehended what that meant. 

Before I moved, snow was just a fantasy. It was like something that only happens in movies or books. But I’ll never forget the morning I looked outside my window and there was white on my front lawn. And the tree. And the car parked in the neighbor’s driveway. It was like a dream. I never would have imagined it was real unless I saw it with my own eyes. I ran out of my room and begged Mom to go outside.

It took an eternity to put on all the clothes that had been bought for me. I felt like a marshmallow. When I was finally ready, I rushed outside and almost slipped. I touched it and felt it and it was so exciting. I had a snowball fight with my brother, and we sledded down the hill. I will never forget the first time I saw snow.

The First Christmas in Our New Home

My first Christmas in Missouri was quite eventful. It was on a Sunday so the day went a little slower than normal. When we woke up we were able to go through our stockings and then we made our way to church. This was not normal for us, as we usually have our Christmas service the Sunday before Christmas day, but with it being on a Sunday, I was able to experience something other people do every year, though I didn’t realize it until now. Having a Christmas where it was actually cold, and where there was ice on the ground (The snow had gone away), was very exciting for me as a young child. 

This is also the first Christmas I remember as a child. I can name the presents I got that year, the food we ate, even the story my mom told us about waking up and seeing Santa Claus in our living room the night before. We were so excited to hear this story, me and my brothers actually jumped for joy. That Christmas is definitely one I’ll never forget.

My Fifth Birthday

My birthday is in February. I was nearly 5 when I moved. My grandparents came out for my birthday, which I share with my dad. There is not much I can tell you about this day. We went to Chuck-E-Cheese. And I got my first video camera. 

All I wanted to do at that age was be a big YouTube star. To film videos of me singing, doing fashion shows in my pajamas, and just vlogging. My parents decided to humor me this time and they got me my own camera and set up my own YouTube account, and I filmed everything that day. I filmed a video of the other presents I got, what my dad got, me giving a run-down on what happened at Chuck-E-Cheese since my mom wouldn’t let me take the camera there (probably smarter in the long run because I definitely would’ve lost it). My life was on that camera for a good while.

I have since lost my first video camera, and have lost interest in filming everything I do, but I look back on the videos I made and am able to laugh at how good I thought I was. You can not even see my face most of the time. But I look back on the little girl who had a dream, and who lived it, and realize I am still that same person.

My First Day of Kindergarten

I was beyond excited for my first day of Kindergarten. You have probably never met a kid that was more excited than me. I had a brand new backpack that was twice as big as me, a new lunchbox, and a new outfit as I walked to my new classroom with my mom. I was overjoyed to finally be able to be “a big kid” but, as we were walking down the then ominous looking hallway, I got scared. I would be alone for a whole day without my mom. Thousands of questions that had never entered my mind before entered at that moment: What if my teacher is mean? What if the other kids are mean? What if I don’t make any new friends? We finally got to the end of the hallway and walked into the classroom. My teacher greeted us at the door, saying, “Hello, I’m Mrs. Eaten, what’s your name?”

I was almost too nervous to respond but I was able to peep out my name to her and she responded with twice the energy she had before and said, “Oh, nice to meet you Emma! I’m so happy you get to be in my class!”

She continued to show me my own cubby that had my name on it where I could put my backpack and my desk. The nerves were slowly melting away when I saw my best friend and neighbor walk into the classroom. I was beyond happy to see her and knew then that Kindergarten was going to be a blast.