What a journey

What a journey so far.

I've come a long way and grown stronger every day. I think that now I feel more comfortable in this setting and I have eased some of the social pressures I felt.

Going back home and attending my high school's football game solidified the fact that I chose the right school. I chose to take an enormous leap right across the country and leave behind everything I knew and everything I was comfortable with.

Change is not comfortable to me. But I faced it head on.

Many times throughout this past semester I've felt lost, and really alone. I would see pictures of people from high school together at state schools back home and I would think "did I make the right decision? they're all having fun together and have a great group of friends...whereas I'm just getting to know people." I was worried that I made the mistake of going to a good school across the country when I could've gone to a good school 2 hours away from home.

Was it worth it?

The other night at my high school's football game, I felt completely solid in my decision.

As I stood talking to some people from high school and heard stories from the various groups who traveled to college together, I realized that it would have been pretty hard to maintain strong connections with those people, when all I really needed to do was grow and develop as a person. Being thrown into a situation where I don't know a single soul has shown me what my true qualities are without being surrounded by people I've known my whole life.

My college choice allows me to be in a totally new environment and meet people from different parts of the country. I'm able to see new parts of the world. I'm able to explore and learn about so many opportunities that different places can provide me. I'm able to learn new perspectives and learn how to communicate with people that have those different perspectives...and I'm pretty excited about that.

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Today, I was able to go to Malibu pier, my favorite place.

Watching the amazing sunset and the waves roll in on the rocky shore made me so happy and at peace.

It made me remember when my mom and I ate outside at Malibu Farm and then chased the sun to a random beach. Despite the stress in our lives at the time, we just sat and temporarily forgot about any worries.

This is why I love being out in Southern California. It soothes my soul and I am so thankful for the ability to drive up the coast to this special spot.