Ahmad Sheikh

I've never stayed in one place too long my entire life. My family had a tendency to move around a lot and as such, I never really had “roots” anywhere. I spent the first 10 years of my life in Brooklyn, New York before moving to Pennsylvania for about 6 months. Then we moved to Griffin, Georgia for about 3.5 years. We shifted to Lawrenceville, Georgia where my family currently lives and now I have come to Athens, Georgia to continue my studies at the University of Georgia.

Due to always moving, it was hard to make and keep friends and I learned quickly that you need to often rely on yourself to get things done. At first, I hated it. I hated the fact I could never really keep friends and had to often start over. As I got older, however, I learned to rely on myself. This sounds kind of bleak but in actuality it was liberating. Whenever I wanted to do something, I could do it myself without feeling out of place, something that I learned other people felt was weird. It also made it so I learned how to independently deal with problems.

I think the biggest thing is that I know who I am. Oftentimes, people get pigeon holed into being someone in order to not drive away the people they surround themselves with. The idea of being alone and abandoned scares people, and rightfully so. That never really affects me because I don't really fear the idea of being alone. It allows me to be who I want to be and if someone does or doesn't want to tag along for the ride, all the power to them.

I really think everyone should try doing things alone. Traveling, watching a movie, even eating alone at a restaurant. When you realize no one really cares and you are able to do what you want, it feels like the weight of forced socialization falls off.