• It had been 7 years since my husband's death, and my daughter and I needed a fresh start. • I was nervous to move her from the safety of the small private school she attended in Hawaii. • We took a leap and moved to Seattle where she is now thriving.

What I did goes against conventional wisdom. We all know that a teenager needs stability and that high school is an important time in their development. It's a time when self-concept, friends, and consistency are all important. It can be destabilizing to move in the middle of that four-year period. Yet, that is exactly what we did. In September 2024, I moved my then-16-year-old-daughter from her private school in Hawaii to a public school in Seattle.

Of course, I was nervous, but the move ended up being worth it.

I knew the timing was

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