Students Corner

by Daniel Hoyle, CHS Student Writer

Moving to Frederick County
I was born in Westminster, a short 40-minute drive from Thurmont. I lived in Hampstead for the majority of my formative years. While the distance between the two may appear short, the cultures between the two couldn’t be more different to me.

My grandparents own the farm that I live on now, and we would come to visit on occasion. I would hunt, ride, and explore the woods, but I never met the people of Frederick. I had only ever actually visited Thurmont maybe once or twice before I was 12. When my family decided to move to my grandparent’s farm, I assumed that since I had been to my grandparent’s farm so often, fitting in would come easy.

In Hampstead, I had friends who had been there literally since birth. My best friend, Arron, was born just a day before me, and his grandparents were my next-door neighbors. My friend, Danny, and I shared the same interests, and we did everything together. Again, because I thought the distance between them was so short, I did not expect to ever lose contact with them.

We moved in the summer of 2019, before my seventh-grade year. At the time, we lived in a tow-behind camper while our house was still under construction. On my first day of middle school at Thurmont Middle School, I didn’t see anyone I felt I belonged with. Sure, I was approached by people who recognized me as new, but a lot of people who I told where I was from replied that they didn’t even know where Caroll County is. I know it’s not expected to find friends on your first day, but I wasn’t quite sure I ever would.

After about the first week, the first friend I had made was another kid who had moved here the year before from California. Although I started making friends over time, breaking into the cliques of the established locals—who had all been friends since kindergarten—was especially tough. People had inside jokes, nicknames, and stories only they shared. It was challenging to even hold a conversation with more than one person because everyone would always make a reference to a person or even a place that I had no knowledge of.

This area is also more lacking in activities that kids can do after school. In Hampstead, there was a skating rink and parks that I could ride my bike to. But, now, I live on a farm in Rocky Ridge. I couldn’t go to the park, and there were no neighbor kids. None of my friendships were deep enough to be invited over to a person’s house, and I didn’t yet have a house to invite people to. I never saw anyone after school, and it left me in a place where none of my friends could become anything but school friends.

In January 2020, we started hearing rumors of a new virus spreading around the world. In March, we were told we were getting two weeks off school. In April, we were told to work from home, and we didn’t go back. The only contact I had with any of my friends was brief, another consequence of only having school friends. When there is no school, there are no friends.

All of the eighth grade was spent at home. When ninth grade began, I was finally able to see people again. I ran cross country, which allowed me to spend time with people with the same interests as me. I hung out with friends, and, finally, for the first time since I had moved here, I had finally gotten real friends. I do not think my experience is unique to our area, but I do think the people here are unique. Everyone here seemed so tightly woven, that it was hard to break through. I mean, I was shocked at how many of my classmates were actually cousins. I am glad that I can now be a larger part of my community, and I finally feel as though I’ve broken through.