Story:Gabriel (age 10)
Photo:Kelly Jacobs
On the emotional day of July 18th 2015, my Mam and I made a life changing move from a small town in Derbyshire, called Shirebrook, to the amazing city of Sheffield.
In Shirebrook, there are mostly two different languages, English and Polish, but here there are a wide variety of different languages and it is mind blowing. We quickly became friends with our Muslim neighbours. We had never met any Muslims before and used to think they were mean because of what we saw on telly. But all of that isn’t true, they are just amazing.
At my old school, Langwith Bassett Primary School, there were only about one hundred children, but at Byron Wood there are around five times that many. It has been really tough moving but I am surprised how quickly I have settled in.
I have become a member of the cubs (we didn’t have that either in Shirebrook) and we have been introduced to some new foods, like chapatis. Shops in Burngreave sell things we have never even heard of before. The thing I enjoy most is seeing people walking around with their own style. If you were different at Shirebrook, you would get judged, but here you are free to be who you want to be. I am also way more confident thanks to my fantastic drama lessons! We have settled in to a new church called St Peter’s Ellesmere. Everyone there is so lovely and I have no regrets moving.
In my opinion, life is like a board game, sometimes you make a good choice, sometimes you make a bad choice, but this is the right choice for me. Mind you, these hills and steps are a pain to get up I don’t think I’ll ever get used to them!