Going to college in a different state is something I am overly grateful for, yet also something I complain about on a daily basis. Being from California, I tend to brag, a lot, about how great the Golden State is and how much I miss it -- but that was all ruined over this winter break.
Okay, I may be over exaggerating a little, because now that we're back at school I miss all the amazing things that come along with living in LA, like my favorite beaches and hiking trails, but the California I went home to was hardly a shell of my usual paradise, all because of El Niño.
People not from California may be wondering, "What in the world is an El Niño other than the Spanish word for boy?!" But all West-coasters know my pain. We have been worried about the drought for years now, the LA river is drying up, and we are stealing water from Nevada, but somehow, the solution is the worst thing to ever happen to me. El Niño is a huge storm that, basically, makes it rain in California for three months straight.
I was told El Nino wasn't going to start until February or March -- much to my pleasure -- because in Texas, I was almost frozen by the time finals rolled around. I was looking forward to sunny and 75 and laying out on the beach and wearing shorts, but alas, the weather is a joke and in the second week of my winter break, El Nino decided to rear his head early, like the jerk he is.
It rained and rained, which I am now used to because of my Texas residency -- however, this was ridiculous. I couldn't enjoy the beaches because they were all closed due to high surf advisories, I couldn't enjoy the sunshine on my shoulders, NONE OF IT.
Hiking wasn't the same with rain clouds covering the Hollywood sign, driving with the windows down blasting music with my friends was nearly impossible, and watching the beach ball drop at the pier at midnight on New Years Eve wasn't the same with it being so cold.
I am so happy I got to run around my old stomping grounds and brag to all my Snapchat friends about how amazing life is in LA, but I'll be damned if I'm not bitter that I didn't get the Mediterranean climate that I was expecting.
