Going out of state for school was an adjustment for me. I moved from California to eastern Washington, and I had no idea how different it would be. For one, it is way colder here, and there are times where the sun never seems to shine. Yes, I love my second home in Washington, but California will always be my number one. Here are a few things I realized after I left the sunshine state.

1. People will make fun of you for being cold

I am from northern California, so it does get cold, but never in the negatives. I never, ever thought I would say this, but sometimes I would rather be sweating my butt off in 106-degree weather than deal with a Washington winter. My friends from Washington always make fun of me because as soon as the temperature hits 50 degrees, I feel the urge to bring out my winter coat and scarves.

2. The avocados are trash everywhere else

Yes, I’m like most Californians and have a deep love for avocados. I mean, they are the best! You can make avocado toast, salads, and who doesn’t love guac?

However, Washington's avocados suck. I don’t know where I need to shop to find a good one, but I'm disappointed every time. Nothing compares to California avocados.

3. We have our own vocabulary

This is 100% true and I didn’t realize until I left. The words “like” and “hella” are the words that I use most. I tried to break the habit of using them because it's annoying, but I can’t. Also, we do this thing where “yea, no” means no; “no, yea” means yes; and “yea, no definitely,” means for sure. Why are we like this? Do we say these things just to be extra confusing?

4. We are truly the worst drivers

Unfortunately this true. When Californian's drive, we are truly the worst. We cut people off, speed, and do California stops. We literally have an illegal, rolling-through-a-stop-sign stop named after us — we should take the hint.

5. Everyone low key thinks you live in LA

Now, this is the annoying part. Yea LA is great, but have you ever been to Norcal? We have San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Lake Tahoe and more. Plus, if you didn’t know, the capital is actually in northern California, in my city, Sacramento.

6. You’ll realize how much you love California

Ultimately, leaving California makes you love it and miss it that much more. Yeah, Washington is great to stay for school, and it has its perks, too. But definitely, catch me living in California the rest of my life.