Home. You automatically think of comfort, relaxation, friends and family. Home doesn't always mean the house you grew up in or the area you're from. After going through just one semester up here at Berkeley, I already refer to it as 'home,' the place where I'm comfortable, at ease, and surrounded by people that I love.
Having this second home has made college that much better. It’s scary coming to a completely new place absolutely nothing. What has made this adjustment that much easier are the friends and connections I have made. Although my San Diego home is the one with almost all of my extended family and friends I've known for years, Berkeley has easily recreated this through friends that have become my family through continuous support, amazing adventures, crazy memories and some of the goofiest yet genuine personalities I’ve come across. Having such a tight knit group so fast has eased this transformation and made me feel so much more comforted.
The part I linger on most is questioning if my worlds ever collide. Will my Berkeley friends ever get to meet my family? Will my animal-loving Big ever get to see my puppies? Or will my friends from home ever get to experience a Cal Gameday?? I’m torn between two places filled with experiences and people that I love. Having such amazing roots in both areas brings a huge frustration - for the next four years I will be stuck transitioning back and forth between my two lives in Berkeley and San Diego and will ultimately have to choose between the two (or somewhere halfway across the world) to settle down and start a life beyond college. This is what pushes me the most to really love both places. Hopefully, with enough determination and effort to maintain my relationship with both places, I can continue to call those places and many more home.