Around the clock happiness may not come so easily to someone who is constantly on the go, marking boxes and folding clothes away. It’s one of the hardest things to experience: going through the dreadful discussion about having to move to a new home, a new state and a new school.

Sophomore Grayson Burke has become accustomed to this type of change, living in four states, 10 different houses and going to eight new schools.

Burke, also known as Grayonce Knowles or @instinctspace, is notorious for being the jolly kid on campus. He shows off his unique dance skills at Masses and carries around a giant speaker, blasting genres of music ranging from heavy metal to classical in the halls.

“The music seems to bring a smile to people’s faces and I just really enjoy making people smile,” he said.

Burke always has a smile spread wide across his face and there’s nothing he loves more than making someone’s day better and seeing someone’s face light up.

“Grayson loves making us laugh,” said sophomore Christian Potts. “Every day that we have religion he walks through the door blasting music, banging his head around, then goes to the white board and shows us what he thinks are his artistic skills but really his drawings just make everyone laugh. We love it.”

Born in Salisbury, Md., Burke spent the first 10 years of his life as a “normal redneck Maryland” kid. He spent almost every day hanging out with his best friends that all lived within walking distance. It came as a shock to Burke and his friends when it was time for him to move from Salisbury to Virginia.

After Burke’s family spent a couple months in Virginia taking care of his sick grandfather, they packed up and moved again. Burke’s dad’s work brought them to Wyoming for a few months but what Burke thought was an extended vacation became reality when they kept moving west.

“I guess all good things must come to an end,” Burke said of his recurring relocations.

Next, in Palm Desert, Calif., Burke and his family lived near his grandmother in case she had any emergencies and needed assistance. Burke’s mom decided to head back east a week before he turned 14, but not because they were going to return to the normal redneck Maryland life he was used to. Once his mom left and his dad moved to L.A., it became clear his parents were getting a divorce. But at this point in time, Burke didn’t think too much of the split or the moving.

“Whenever I moved I kept quiet about the whole thing because I didn’t really have any friends who would care and because I didn’t want to make a big deal of it where people just come out of the woodwork with fake emotion,” Burke said.

Torn between living with either his mom or dad, Burke chose neither.

“I live with my aunt and uncle now because I don’t want to live in Maryland with my mom because I know I’ll have a more successful life here,” he said. “And living with my dad in L.A. would be a struggle because he’s not financially stable enough to provide for me right now.”

It’s not always sunshine and smiles for Burke like everyone thinks it is. Being a free spirit was not always an option for him considering he moved from coast to coast and town to town which took a toll on his happy-go-lucky childhood attitude.

“I became depressed, very overweight, shut everyone out, and suicidal at times,” Burke said. “I just wanted things to be normal again because I really wasn’t myself at all.”

Since age 10, Burke’s life has been a series of packing, moving, unpacking and enrolling at a new school. But his personality at school remains unique and its singularity doesn’t go unnoticed.

“[Burke] is the kind of person to just do his own thing and have a good time while doing it,” Potts said. “Nothing seems to hold him back from being himself and that’s pretty inspiring to me.”

Burke may be considered a joy to be around but even the happiest of people have a side to them that no one — not even their closest friends — know about.

“I think people hold me to this standard of always being in a good mood, but quite often I’m not,” Burke said. “It can pose as a problem because I hide a lot of insecurities and I am very critical of myself but I act this way to bring smiles or at least a laugh to others.”

Burke’s willingness to be happy for others’ happiness is what makes him who he is.

“I guess what people see is just me being myself,” he said. “I try not to hide myself under any masks and I just try to keep myself as real and raw as possible.”

Now for Burke, the new homes and unknown campuses don’t stand in the way of trying to find a silver lining to everything.

“I believe that moving has shaped me into a stronger person; it has also given me a sense of humor for things that can be thought of as sad or depressing,” Burke said. “It has shown me to always try to find the great qualities of something no matter how sad it is.”