What’s it like to disappear for years without telling your friends or family your whereabouts?

Answer by Anonymous:

I moved from one country to another with my immediate family. We did not tell the rest of the family and none of my friends knew. My school didn't know. No one knew, and my "immediate family" consisted of two people.

I was isolated from those people until a few years later when I came to visit.

And honestly? My friends welcomed me in as if I had never left and approached me with a "We were wondering when you'd show up" attitude. No one knew where I had gone but they all "guessed" from "rumors" that were started by someone who had no idea.

I felt lonely at first but it made a huge change in me. The shock of a new environment and the reality of being alone and without the support I grew up with made me the person I am today. Many of my anger issues waned away, anxiety got less crazy, I started being the top of my class rather than the bottom (I still believe the teachers had it in for me before I moved), and things went well.

What's it like to disappear for years without telling your friends or family your whereabouts?