Jillian Leff is a senior broadcast major studying in LA for the semester at Emerson’s external campus, giving you the inside scoop to what’s happening on the west coast. Photo by Hope Kauffman
Today I wore a bathing suit. I know what you’re thinking. THIS GIRL IS CRAZY! Well, it’s a sunny, 75-degree day in Los Angeles, and the only way to describe the weather is lovely. As a new transplant to the city, I’m soaking up all the sun I can get!
After spending four years at Emerson in vitamin D-deprived New England, I was ready for a change. I am studying and interning in Los Angeles for the next twelve weeks through the Emerson College Los Angeles Program. This is my last semester in school, and I am hoping to gain connections, some fun memories, and a place I can call home after graduation.
I’ll be here as your guide, getting the inside scoop on Los Angeles life as a novice California girl. I’ll keep you up to date with cool touristy things to do, fun restaurants to check out, internship advice, and any odds or ends that come up during my journey.
This whole experience began about two weeks ago when I had to leave my parents. I am a family girl, so that was the hardest part. There was no dramatic sobbing in an airport terminal or slow motion running—just a long hug and two big kisses on both of my cheeks.
The most unsettling part about leaving home is knowing that my family is over 3,000 miles away with a three-hour time difference. This is my first taste of adulthood and seems much more permanent. Unlike Boston, I can’t hop a five-hour bus back to New Jersey to be home in time for my mom’s Italian cooking. I am taking the new experience and adjusting day by day.
Over the past few days I have been quietly surveying the other kids in my program and have quickly realized I am not alone. Everyone is a little homesick, which is almost comforting. So to cure the blues, I proposed an idea: I will be exploring this new city, and taking in all it has to offer. I’m ready LA. Lets do this!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emerson chapter.