“If you’re from Africa, then why are you white?” Karen from Mean Girls isn’t the only one with misconceptions. Although this may not be as common at a UC, telling someone that you’re from California seems to elicit certain responses based on what people assume it’s like to be a Californian. Whether it’s about beaches and palm trees or celebrity sightings, here are some things that, as much as we wish were true, simply aren’t.
1. Beaches are at your doorstep.
While being a coastal state does allow California to boast numerous beaches, most people don’t live right next to one. Perhaps the proximity of beaches is closer in Southern California, but as someone who is from Northern California, three of the closest beaches are at least an hour away. (Oh, and contrary to popular belief, Californians also don’t spend their days lounging around in bathing suits.)
2. Everyone knows how to surf.
Going along with the fact that beaches aren’t nearly as close as people may believe, they also are not the “main” attraction for people. While beaches may make surfing a popular sport in areas of Southern California or Santa Cruz, more inland cities such as the San Francisco Bay Area are far more centered around other commercial, dry-land activities.
3. Celebrity sightings happen daily.
For some reason, living in California seems to imply living in LA…which then seems to imply living in or near Hollywood. While that may be true for a small number of people, many people live nowhere near Hollywood. Most people who live in NorCal live anywhere between 7-10 hours away from LA, and even those who live in parts of Southern California are still 1-2 hours from central Hollywood, and have never run into a celebrity! Also, remember that simply just being in Hollywood – unless you’re near a studio or extremely upscale housing area – does not really increase your chances of seeing a celebrity. Sorry to burst your bubble, folks.
4. The sun is ALWAYS shining.
Undeniably, California has one of the most pleasant weather conditions in the country, with temperatures never hitting extreme numbers. With that said, however, it doesn’t mean that the weather is always sunny and never drops below 80 degrees. While the temperature in the summer tends to fluctuate between 80-100, the temperature in the winter (well, what we consider winter) tends to be around 55-70 degrees. So the weather is nowhere near intolerable, but it does get cold; and sometimes, just sometimes, it even rains.
5. Everyone has a Californian accent.
I’ve lived in California almost my entire life, and I’m still not sure what a Californian accent is. It supposedly includes slang like “hella” or “SanFran” that are said in a valley girl accent. Okay, so maybe people do say “hella,” but no one from San Francisco actually says they’re from “SanFran.” And as entertaining as it would be, people definitely don’t speak like valley girls.
*None of these images belong to the author or Her Campus UC Davis.
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