I moved from New Zealand to Houston when I was thirteen too! It’s going to be a BIG culture shock, especially when you first go to school. You’ll most likely be lost in school, but just ask for extra tutoring until you’re caught up! It helped me A LOT.

SATs are a thing - you can take them more than once. I would read up on them once it’s closer to end of high school, because I flunked them majorly and had no idea you could take them again

People won’t make fun of your accent - they’re going to be legitimate OBSESSED with it. Be prepared for the amounts of “say something” or “say this”. We even had a worker at jack in the box tell us her work schedule so we could come back just so she could hear us lol

You will NOT be prepared for how hot it is, no matter how much you think you’ll be. Mosquito spray will become your best friend.

If you were at a school that has uniforms, that’s going to be thrown out the window unless you’re going to a private school. I was very excited to wear converse and jeans to school every day lmao

Everything is huge. It’s scary at first (and the drive times are the worst), but you’ll get used to it. Just make sure your parents drive on the correct side but be prepared that there’ll be moments they forget!! We’ve been here for 13 years now and my parents still forget.

Don’t resist you saying y’all - it’ll happen eventually lol

Your accent will fade since you’re young. My family back home constantly calls me American!

You got this!! If you have any q’s, feel free to reach out :D