All About Moving to Florida.
I am not going to lie, moving was tough. I moved to Florida in the summer of 2014 which was about four years ago now. Moving to Florida was a huge culture shock, coming from a small town in the Bay Area in California. If you can just imagine living somewhere your whole life than all the sudden moving to a new place that was the complete flip-side, you could probably understand how I felt. I came from a place of constant protests, artistic lifestyles, and a melting pot of cultures, which was all I really grew up around. Right when I stepped foot into Florida I realized that I would have to adapt to so many new things, considering I was no longer in a place where I belonged. I distinctly remember the moment where I was sitting in my empty bedroom thinking I have to start my entire life over. I had to find new friends, explore new hobbies, and get used to living in a place that isn’t surrounded by mountains, but instead a beach. I would soon come to realize that all of this takes time, and I was going to have to go through some trial and error. Some of the first friends I had made quickly ditched me for other new friends, but I was okay with that because the true ones ended up sticking around. It was oddly kind of easy to make friends being the “new girl”. People would constantly ask me about living in California, asking me if I lived near any celebrities or if any of my friends were movie stars. I didn’t even realize that living in California was really that interesting to people, but I went along with it because it was kind of funny. Sure enough, I was able to get in the groove of things pretty quickly. People were really kind and I was able to become friends with an amazing group of girls. Of course I experienced rough times like any other teenage girl such as friend problems and finding a place to fit in to this new place, but overall I don’t regret moving to Florida one bit. This was the first real, big change I had ever had to go through, and it was an experience that really impacted me as a person. It opened my eyes to the fact that change is not the end of the world, and sometimes, without even knowing it, it is necessary. When I look back on things now, I realize that, in California, I was dealing with some pretty awful personal problems. Moving to Florida and allowing change really helped me let go of all of the bad things going on in my life, and in a way gave me a chance to start clean. Life was good, and I loved being able to live two minutes away from the beach. In the end, moving to Florida was tough, but it ended up all being worth it, and unexpectedly exactly what I needed. A word of advice from me is, if you are ever presented with a new change, don't be afraid to take it. I am a strong believer that all changes in life have a purpose whether it is a big move or a change in friends. So when change is presented, try to embrace it, because it could bring out something new and amazing in your life!
