Croco Wadd

I am someone who grew up as an only child to a mother who had ten siblings including herself.

Often when the question of “do you have siblings ?” was asked, I usually hesitated to answer, not because I am embarrassed being an only child but because I didn't grow up in a typical only child environment. So for some time I didn't consider myself an only child.

Since I was a kid I have been moving back and forth between many different living situations. One year I lived across the world in Vietnam, the next I was living with my relatives in the U.S. No matter where I lived, I was always surrounded by the many children of my nine aunts and uncles. As an immigrant me and my mom never really had an official home. So my home was always just where my cousins were because I spent a large portion of my life living with them.

Living with my cousins over the past years as I grew up has shaped my interest and experience as a person. The houses that I lived in were always filled with joyous laughter and sometimes lousy arguments, but through those times I never had to worry about being lonely or having no one to hang out with. Moving so much had led me to lose contact with a lot of my friends, and being an introvert, making new friends was difficult for me, so to me my cousins were my only friends. For the longest time, I have always seen myself as a “solo” person, because of the many friends that I lost as I was constantly on the move. Yet, that mindset slowly faded once I found a community with my cousins and family.

So whenever I was asked about the amount of siblings that I had, I think back to my many cousins that I have lived with, because growing up living together with them helped me strengthen my connection with them but also made me feel like I never really was an only child. Although now I do not live with my cousins anymore, I still hangout and talk to them quite often and having my cousins as my only friends for so many years has helped me make more friends since I started UGA.

Coming to UGA as a first year, still lacking so much experience, I know that I am joining UGA with a fresh perspective ready for new courses and connections. I can now walk the path of life more independently, without having to rely on my family. I have become more prepared for what college may bring me as my experience living a “solo” life has made me ready for a bigger crowd at UGA.