For a lot of people, change is not their first idea regarding fun due to its negative connotation. However, senior Naomi Mansilla has had to learn to accept change as she has moved around 5 different countries in the last 8 years.

“Every single time I moved I had to adapt to a new school system, to new people, and every time I left, I left friends behind but I also got a lot more friends so it wasn’t the worst after all,” Mansilla said.

Mansilla began moving around when she was in fourth grade and now that she is a senior she has lived in countries such as Brazil, Columbia, London, Ecuador, and the United States.

“Most of the schools I’ve gone to were international so there’s people from everywhere and there’s so many different cultures. Almost all of the schools have culture festivals and it helped me learn a lot,” Mansilla said.

Students at international schools tend to move around often, which resulted in meeting students from all over the world constantly.

“My favorite place has been Ecuador because that was the beginning of my high school year and [even though] that was my smallest grade, I made the most friends,” Mansilla said. “There was 30 people in my grade, it was so small and everyone knew each other, it was like one big family.”

As she attended schools from all around the world she has gotten the chance to learn different languages such as English or French.

“I have a lot of cultural knowledge with other places and cultures so when people talk about their life, I understand it,” Mansilla said.

Even though constantly moving around has been hard, Mansilla has learned that great things can come out of change and considers herself lucky to have all the experiences she does.

“It’s helped me learn a lot throughout [the] years,” Mansilla said. “Change is not a bad thing.”

Mansilla hopes to someday go back and visit all the places that have now grown close to her heart.