She sat in her empty house the day after her big move. She was getting ready for school that Monday morning when she sternly told her mom to not pack Indian food in her lunchbox in fear of getting teased. As her mom straightened her naturally curly hair, she hoped her peers would complement her new blue jeans. Although she thought she needed to change to be liked by her peers, she would soon find friends that would accept her for who she was.

Freshman Parnita moved from Irving to Mckinney when she was in 5th grade. She moved away from a predominantly Indian area to a less diverse area. Immediately, Parnita felt different and isolated. 

“People used to make fun of me because of the way I dressed and the way I talked,” Parnita said. “This made me not want to interact with my peers as much and instead I would spend my time playing games on my ipad.” 

Since Parnita spent most of her time on technology, she became disconnected from people in her school which impacted her ability to make friends.

“It was hard to make friends when I first moved here because I couldn’t relate with people as much anymore,” Parnita said. “People would judge me for my race and they would never give me a chance to prove that I’m more than just a stereotypical brown girl.”

Even though Parnita struggled to make friends at first, she eventually found her people. Most who she is still close with today.

“I finally made friends in Mckinney by understanding that I don’t need to be popular or make friends with the cool kids,” Parnita said. “I just needed to find people who understood me and accepted me for who I am.”

Although it was hard for Parnita to adjust to her new school, she said that her experience moving made her stronger.

“The process of growing from my 5th grade to my 9th grade self was rough, but it allowed me to learn how to differentiate myself from other people and use my strengths,” Parnita said. “It allowed me to find my own personality.”

Although Parnita went through hard times when she first moved, she knows it changed her for the better.

“If I would have stayed in Irving then I wouldn’t have been introduced to the real world,” Parnita said. “I was very sheltered before I moved because I was surrounded by people who had the same culture as I did which made me feel as if I wasn’t a minority.” 

Parnita said that her experience taught her a lot and that she would have wanted to give some advice to her younger self.

“I would tell myself that it’s a process to get to where you are as a person,” she said. “Time is your best friend.”