Having your parents get a divorce is a huge adjustment for anyone, but for Sarah Hauver it was especially difficult.
Sarah’s parents got divorced when she was a young child, but unlike most divorces where one parent moves out of the house, Sarah’s mom moved out of the entire western region. Sarah grew up on Kodiak Island in Alaska, however when her parents got a divorce she moved with her mom to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Because Sarah’s mom lives in Wisconsin and her dad lives in Alaska, you can imagine she doesn’t get to visit him every other weekend. The last time Sarah visited her dad was three years ago, and some things have changed since then. Sarah is now sixteen and has grown up a lot; she now has a one-year-old daughter named Grace.
      As you can imagine, there would have been many changes for Sarah in lifestyle and routine. Sarah says the difference between Wisconsin and Alaska is like the difference between light and dark. She states that everything is different: the weather, the activities, the scenery, and the attitudes of the people. For example, Sarah used to swim a lot in Alaska, but when she came to Wisconsin, she was nowhere near the ocean. The only way she got to do her favorite activity was to join the swim team. The difference in scenery was also an adjustment. When you wake up in Alaska you see the mountains, the ocean and the wildlife. In Wisconsin, Sarah wakes up to the sounds of screeching brakes and loud horns.
      However, Sarah said the biggest difference is the people and their attitudes. “In Alaska, everyone is like a family,” Sarah explained. Many people move to Alaska later in life and don’t have a lot of family there. Therefore the people in Alaska have to be each others’ family. According to Sarah, the people in Wisconsin are more uptight and not as accepting to outsiders. Sarah has gotten through all this and has made a home for herself in Wisconsin. Even so, Sarah is excited to go back to the mountains and the people she loves, and to share it with her beautiful daughter.