For the first 19 years of my life, I resided five minutes from the Atlantic Ocean on the Jersey Shore. Visiting the beach was not only a hobby and enjoyable pastime, but it was a way of life for many of my town's residents. Awed by the Shore’s beauty and tranquility, I constantly told myself I'd never leave.

But then senior year rolled around.

In October of 2013, I received a letter of admittance into East Carolina University, located on the eastern coast of North Carolina, in a town called Greenville. Frankly, I was very ill-informed about the school, and at first questioned if in fact there was an East Carolina (aside from North and South). But, after touring the school that November, going to orientation that June, and moving in that August, my whole world was turned upside down and I had found my home for the next four years.

1 . The Pace

Coming from New Jersey, I was used to high-flying tempers, road-raged fueled drivers, and the constant rush of people in a hurry to get absolutely everywhere. It didn't matter what time of day it was, someone was always in a rush to get somewhere. In the case of New Jersey, impatience is a virtue. On the contrary, the pace down in North Carolina is significantly slower. Yes, people still need to get to where they are going, but the need to go 100 mph just isn't present. And, I couldn't even tell you the last time I heard someone blow their horn at another car, bike, or pedestrian. It's a great change of pace, and an even better feeling to catch my breath.

2. The Weather

Now one of my main priorities for picking schools was the weather. Like I said, I loved where I was located and I loved the beach, but that was during the summer months. I cannot stand the cold weather, so my goal was to attend a school where the weather conditions were consistently superior to New Jersey's. Obviously, I chose East Carolina and went to school with the impression that the winters, well, just didn't exist. Yes, I was wrong, but not entirely. The winters do exist and they are cold, but not to the extent of up North. And, the spring comes much earlier than back home. Last week, for instance, my sister called me to tell me that she was looking out of our kitchen window, watching the snow fall - this was not an April Fools’ joke! The entire time this conversation was going on, I was sitting poolside.

3. The People

My first experience with the friendliness of people down South was at a restaurant, where the waiter constantly referred to me as “dear” and “honey” and “sweetheart.” It was like she actually cared how my day was, what I wanted to eat, and that I wanted a refill to my coffee. This was so unnatural to me, because up North someone like that can be hard to find. It's people like that waitress who make me want to stay down here even more; every single day.

4. The Food

Don't get me wrong, the food up North is absolutely to-die-for. From pizza to bagels, and hoagies to pork roll (look it up for all you non-Jerseyans, you won't regret it), I have zero complaints about the choice of food in front of me when I'm home. But, I also am a huge fan of barbecue food so it seems like I came to the right place. The amount of barbecue, fried chicken, and the Southern delicacies I've had at school is out of this world. Aside from that core group of food, there are some chains down at school that I've grown incredibly fond of, considering they don’t exist at home and I'd never even heard of them before. Of course, I'm referring to the greatest late-night creation on earth, Cookout, as well as the perfect morning-starter, Bojangles.

5. The Experience

The whole reason I came to a school 500 miles away from my hometown was to experience things I never had before. The amount of different people I've met, memories I've made, and places I’ve gotten to go to while at school has been absolutely incredible. Every day I think about how lucky I am to be in this spot, and how great of a decision it was to attend school in North Carolina. There's only a month of school left of my sophomore year, meaning my collegiate career at ECU is nearly half way over. It's hard not to write this and get nostalgic and sentimental, but those feelings are balanced with excitement for what the second half of school has to offer. Cheers to the first half, and here's to new beginnings.