Moving from the West Coast to the East Coast is stressful, especially if you’re a fresh-faced eighteen-year old who’s straight out of high school. There are a lot of challenges, and it’s easy to get wrapped up in them. Here’s the top five things I wish I knew moving:
1. Humidity is real
Now I know most of you are rolling your eyes at me for this, but let me tell you, growing up in Northern California my entire life humidity was not a real thing. For the first time I struggled to breathe while just standing and the hair…complete disaster. I now have to put double the hair product in my hair than I normally would. As I find myself falling in love with the city of Philadelphia, I find that I am in need of some dry California air.
2. Dating is overrated
As I see couples around I think “Oh how sweet. What would it be like to be going on dates in this beautiful city?” and then shortly “How could anyone stand to be touched in this heat and humidity? I just want to shower every time I go outside!” Maybe it takes time to adjust to, but for now, there will be no hand holding for this girl in this kind of humidity.
3. Time difference will be a challenge
While I prepared for the jetlag, I completely forget the time difference. A three-hour time difference should not be hard to deal with, right? Tell that to my friends when I text them at 7am their time, or they text me at 1am. The solution? Wait until the middle of the day.
4. Missing home is an everyday battle
I knew being across the country would be no small battle. However, I was naive in thinking that being homesick would only hit occasionally, and only after being gone for months. I was wrong. Missing home is an everyday thing. It’s the way you suddenly go from being happy in the moment to completely sad because you realize this moment will have to be retold over the phone and not over coffee with everyone at home. The way you so desperately hope to wake up on a Saturday morning at your best friend’s house starving for the local diner’s eggs Benedict. There really is no way to get over it. The only thing you can do is call often, bring so many pictures the wall is no longer white, and know that this is a precious time in your life! Experience everything you can in this new world. Go on so many adventures that when you go home for Christmas they want to send you back because you never stop talking. Lastly, and I find this to be the most helpful, countdown the weeks. It might seem overwhelming when the calendar says thirteen weeks until Christmas, but as school picks up and new adventures take place the weeks go by in a blur. Hold on while you can!
5. Fall is magical
California has the beaches, rivers, and lakes, but it doesn’t have the magic of fall. The season may change, but what is fall without the colors? As my new friends tell me about Eastern fall and the leaves start to change, I can’t wait! With all the chaos around you and in you just remember to go out and breathe in the crisp fall air. Open your eyes to all the new colors surrounding you. Falls is coming, enjoy the newness of everything.