Typing with Taryn

Picture a nine year old girl, hesitant and a little upset, packing up her belongings to move to a new country with her parents. 

Kirstin Verplanke is a native of Swindon, England and now resides in Arizona. Her unique childhood has allowed her a special perspective on life in America. Throughout her years in Arizona, she has been able to experience things her nine year old self could never imagine.

Schooling in Arizona has much more opportunities compared to Kirstin’s homeland. Kirstin explained how in England, school is considered a full time job. Her school day would be filled with walking to school since driving in England is very uncommon, going to classes from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon, walking home, and immediately starting house chores and school work. 

Even as a nine year old, Kirstin understood the adult feeling of responsibilities. On her days off of school, Kirstin enjoyed spending the typical rainy day in England playing with her friends. The soft sound of rain falling on the window resonated with her while she was inside playing with barbies.

Kirstin had a new definition of “home.” To her, home is people rather than a place. Since she spent much of her childhood traveling from England to Arizona, the one thing that stayed consistent was her relationship with her mother, Helen.

In Kirstin’s eyes, Helen is an understanding, selfless, humble mother who would do anything for her daughter. Their friendship has always come easy and moving to Arizona played a big part in this. Kirstin said, “Moving to Arizona at a young age was difficult since I had to leave all of my friends in England. Being able to rely on my mom as someone who I could go to about anything was really helpful.”

Helen believed this to be true as well. Helen said, “She’s always been my baby girl and I had to look after her. I was just lucky that the move brought us closer together.”

This wholesome mother/daughter friendship continued all throughout high school and is still as prominent now being thousands of miles away from each other as it was living under the same roof.

Sydney Lueth, Kirstin’s roommate and teammate, can proudly attest to this. Sydney and Kirstin have been a part of the Morningside swim team for two years together and have lived together for one year. During this time, Sydney has been able to witness not only Kirstin’s relationship with her mom, but to also see how Kirstin’s culture differs from the “typical” Americans.

When asked about what Sydney initially noticed about Kirstin’s lifestyle, she said, “In the United Kingdom, people don’t really go out to eat a lot so Kirstin typically makes all of her meals here. She doesn’t prefer to go out as much as other people do.”

Sydney continued by saying, “Her mannerisms are also different compared to mine. I feel like she speaks in a much more proper way and is very exact with her wording.”

Little things such as these show Kirstin still has a piece of her original home with her years later. Kirstin is able to make anywhere feel like home with her caring heart and pure soul.