If you had met seven-year-old me, you'd have thought I was a very strange child. Instead of spending my money on candy or chewing gum or dolls, I put every penny I earned in the bank, preparing for the monumental task of paying for college. Already I could hardly wait to move out and explore an entirely new life for myself. I couldn't wait to take classes on subjects I was actually interested in and interact with kids I actually had things in common with. Now that I'm leaving in less than a week, I'm shocked to find myself feeling bittersweet; California is all I've ever known, and soon I'll be moving to the opposite coast. Who else feels simultaneously panic-stricken and ecstatic?

Here are five things I'll miss:

1. Constant access to the beach.

It's amazing; I haven't been to the beach once this summer, but I know that once I move, I'll regret being too lazy to drive the 25 minutes to Santa Cruz. People from other states often assume that Californians live at the beach, but in reality, we take it seriously for granted. The Virginian mountains and trees will be gorgeous, but I can already see myself eating ice cream out of the carton and crying in a few months, totally beach-deprived.

2. Never having to buy a raincoat or rain boots (unless they're really cute and on sale, and even then they're just for show).

Although having the same weather every day can get repetitive, it beats the heck out of having to deal with rain all of the time. I have a serious question for out-of-staters: What do you wear when it rains during the summer? It is simultaneously warm and wet, I don't see how you can work with that. In California, weather is straightforward. It rains five times a year, and for the other 360 days we wear shorts.

3. Living in the center of the world's technological hub.

Steve Jobs worked to create Apple-1 in his garage in Los Altos, just 10 minutes away. His business partner, Steve Wozniak, lives in my town (Fun story: My AP Biology teacher crashed on Steve Wozniak's couch for a few months in the 90's). Both Apple and Google's headquarters are 15 minutes away in Cupertino, and the Netflix headquarters is down the street from my house. It's crazy to think that someone who helped design my iPhone could be standing next to me in line at the DMV.

4. Being able to use "hella" in every sentence without being hard-core judged.

Sometimes that's the only word that works, okay? What do you want me to say, that I caught a "super" gnarly wave, bruh? That just sounds wrong.

5. Having a huge diversity of landscapes at my fingertips.

Although California is mainly known for its stereotypical beaches, its geography means that different parts of the state are radically different from one another. The Tahoe area has some of the best skiing in the West. SoCal's Death Valley is the lowest, hottest, driest area in North America. In Sequoia National Park, "General Sherman" is the largest single-stemmed tree on Earth. And the city of Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the U.S., and the twentieth most populous in the world.

Now here are five things I won't miss:

1. When people call it "Cali."

Let me let you in on a little secret: No self-respecting Californian calls it "Cali." EVER. Unless you want all of your friends to ditch you and end up eating at In-N-Out by yourself. The only people who call it "Cali" are people who wish they were from "Cali."

2. Ridiculously high gas prices.

Even though California is one of the biggest gas suppliers in the U.S., it has the second highest gas prices in the country, second only to Hawaii. Also, gas is taxed higher in California than in any other state. So although we're surrounded by fun hotspots, we Californians can't always afford to get there.

3. Having every TV series finale spoiled.

Pacific Coast Time means that you absolutely cannot look at any social media site (or at your phone at all, really) the evening a finale airs. One glance at Twitter's trending topics and an entire series is ruined just because east coasters can't wait a few hours to post.

4. The fact that California ocean water is freaking freezing.

Although we're Californians and we have the beach and we're oh-so-lucky, that doesn't mean we actually go in the water. Have you ever touched the northern Pacific Ocean? If you've taken environmental science, you know that California's ocean water comes from the Arctic, so the water is quite literally ice water. Even SoCal surfers strap on wetsuits before jogging into the waves. But us humans? We stay on the sand.

5. Smog.

Unbelievably, seven out of the ten smoggiest cities in America are in California. Los Angeles, ranked #1, traps all of the air pollution from its heavy traffic with the mountains surrounding the city, creating a bowl of smog. Whenever I'm in L.A. I feel as though I knock a week off my lifespan for every day I spend in the city.

While writing this article, I realized it was far easier to come up with things I won't miss than it was thinking of things I will. I'm not sure if that makes me a glass-half-empty person or if it just means I'm ready to move on, but in any case I think that's good for someone who's about to leave. Just remember: Never, ever, EVER call it "Cali."