1. Y’all is a word.

I don’t know about y’all, but “y’all” was not considered an actual word when I was in school. Every once in awhile, some kid in the class would use it and everyone would laugh like it was a joke and the teacher would just brush it off as slang. Once arriving in Texas, I quickly realized that it is very much used in everyday language. It is just a contraction of the words you and all. In all honesty, it is way more efficient and logical than the “hey guys” that most people use in California.

2. Southern hospitality actually exists.

It may sound crazy, but I was not completely convinced that Southern hospitality was still a thing until I came to Texas. I love California and all, but people don’t tend to be that welcoming. People who take the time to say hi and ask how you are doing are the exception whereas here in Texas, it is a daily occurrence. I grew up in a very hospitable family, but that definitely wasn’t the norm. I’ve actually had several people comment on how surprised they were to find out I was from California because Californians are not known for being particularly nice.

3. Fast food restaurants vary greatly from state to state.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those California kids who now go to college in a state without In-n-Out. As for me, I was one of the fortunate ones because Texas has 35 In-n-Out locations, one being in my town. Now, this is nothing in comparison to the over 200 locations in California, but it is something. But the absence of In-n-Out burger is surpassed by the sheer amount of Whataburgers and Raising Cane's. I hadn’t heard of Whataburger until I got to Texas and the only reason I heard of Raising Canes was because I happened to stop for lunch at one of the five that exist in California. Who knew crossing state lines could make such a difference in the fast food options available.

4. Humidity is a very real enemy.

When they say it is 95 degrees in California, it feels like 95 degrees because it is a very dry heat. I got here and suddenly 85 felt way warmer than 85. I sweat like crazy and became extremely grateful for air conditioning. I haven’t yet decided which I can tolerate more, a wet or dry heat, but both are pretty annoying. I’m just hoping that someday I will get used to the humidity.

5. I finally understand what it means to drive through nothing.

My mom and I drove from California to move me into college. I had been on long drives in California before, but never this long. After the first day, I quickly learned what nothingness truly meant. I went hours without seeing a legitimate town or sometimes even a decent building. We took one road and I did not see a building or another car for a solid hour. Being my first long road trip, this was really unsettling. I had no idea there was so much unused land.

6. Weather can change very quickly.

Tornados and big thunderstorms are not normal in California. If it is going to rain, you can tell a good couple hours in advance before it actually does. But during welcome week, the first week I was here, the weather went from nice with a couple clouds to blustering winds and tornado warnings within minutes. Those of us from out of state were all a little bewildered and amazed. All in all, it made for an interesting welcome week experience.

7. Texas drivers are... insane.

Who the heck thought it was a good idea to have an 85 mph speed limit? Yes, you read that right, 85. You wanna know what the highest speed limit in California is? 70, and even that is very rare. Usually, the highest is 65. It is completely insane to me that the speed limit would be 15-20 mph more in Texas than in California. Driving on the Texas freeway was extremely frightening and I honestly don’t think I will ever get used to it.

8. Lampshading.

Urban dictionary defines lampshading as “Wearing an oversized T-shirt and short athletic shorts that are hidden by the shirt. This gives the girl a silhouette similar to that of a lampshade.” I didn’t know this was a thing or how popular it was until I got here. Chances are, there will be at least a couple girls in your class wearing this. I understand the concept behind it, and I’m sure it is extremely comfortable, but I’m just not that into it. Go ahead and wear your oversized t-shirts and athletic shorts and I’ll stick to my jeans and a nice shirt.

9. Football is a way of life.

I liked football coming to Texas, and I enjoyed going to my high school’s games, but holy cow, Texans are serious about their football. Texans spend an outrageous amount of money on football and it isn’t uncommon for college students to drive hours home to attend their high school’s homecoming game. It is truly mind-blowing how much emphasis is put on the sport of football, although I do admire their spirit.

10. Texas is just as political.

California is known for leaning extremely left and people get very political and defensive. Republicans are few and far between and they aren’t exactly very welcomed. Moderate policies are also very rare because who needs to listen to people on the other side of the aisle if the Democrats already have a supermajority in the state government? Texas is very similar but on the other side of the aisle. I have met a good deal of Democrats, but that can mostly be attributed to being in a college town. It is very eerie moving from an extremely liberal state to a very conservative state.