Growing up in Tampa, Florida, it never crossed my mind that I would spend my college years in Texas. I had actually never even been to Texas until I was a junior in high school. I mean, I live where you vacation! Why would I ever want to leave that?
But, when I stepped on the campus of TCU for the first time, I knew it was for me. The sense of community and adventure is what drew me to this great school. Tampa and Fort Worth do have many similarities, but the differences are just as great.
Texas is missing the one thing that I miss most from home: my family. It may be cliché, but I find myself calling my mom constantly and wishing that she was here to make me a bath or rub my back after a long day.
The beaches in Florida do not even come close to comparison to the ‘beach’ in Fort Worth. After visiting Trinity River for the first time, I knew adjusting was going to be hard. Tanning on grass and man-made sand is much more different from anything I was used to back home.
When I visited the Trinity River for the first time, all of my friends couldn’t stop laughing about my reaction at what they considered to be a ‘beach.’ It was a major shock.
I find myself laughing every time a friend from California complains about how ‘humid’ or ‘hot’ it is. Seriously, I find that my skin has been so dry because it’s not 98 percent humidity 98 percent of the time.
Friends back home and friends in the Fort make me feel like I’m living a Hannah Montana life. Not in a bad way, or saying I’ve changed myself too much, but in high school I was shy and awkward. I knew in college I wanted to become someone greater.
While I do miss home, my bed and home-cooked meals being in the Fort is one of the best things that could have happened to me. The people I’ve met, the things that I’ve done—I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I love being a Floridian in the Fort.