The New Kid in Town

My sister got a divorce from her husband some 10 years ago. She has kids, and she decided to stay where she was--in the same 25 block radius as her ex- so that her kids wouldn't have to move and be the "new kid." It was a good thing for her to stay put, but I always wondered at her reasons.

I have only been the "new kid" a few times. And it has always been at a time and in a place where I am not the only "new kid." When I moved away from the only home I knew, it was for college. I was most definitely not the only new kid at the college. Everything was new, everyone was new, nothing was as it used to be. It was okay to be among the "new kids" at that time.

My husband and I have only moved from St. George to the Salt Lake area and back to St. George in order for him to finish his Master's Degree, so it wasn't much of a deal to be the new kid in those scenarios. I felt comfortable in St. George after living here for college. I grew up in the Salt Lake area, so it wasn't a big deal. When I moved into my newer house in St. George, it was a little different, but it was just fine.

I just wonder if some people don't deal well with being the new kid and I'm not one of those people. I know I'm not the girl who is afraid to meet people or make new friends. And I know that there are people who are fine with making friends when they get in a new situation, but they may still be apprehensive and uncomfortable with being the new kid.

Do some just never grow out of being uncomfortable with being the new kid? And am I just equipped with a different kind of gene that gives me the coping mechanisms to handle new situations (with embarrassment that I'm okay with) better than others? Hmmm....