The United States is finally defrosting and we are starting to feel the warmth of spring. For college students, that only means one thing: Spring Break. In the coming weeks, everybody will be packing their bags and going all across the country to all sorts of fun destinations to spend a stress-free week in paradise. For me, that means going home.

I had the privilege of being raised my entire life in sunny Orange County, California. It’s a beautiful place that serves as a vacation destination for many, especially for spring break. The weather is pleasant all year long and the beaches are to die for. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth — and I left it to go to college in Texas.

When I say everyone thinks I’m crazy, I mean everyone. When I discuss college with any professors, classmates, or even people back home, I’m almost always hit with the same response:

“If you come from Southern California, what in the world are you doing at Baylor?”

I will admit, it’s a fair question. It wasn’t an easy decision either, leaving the ocean and good weather to spend a few years in Waco. It’s certainly a culture shock and not many people that I come across truly understand why I did it. Honestly, I didn’t understand it for a while. I always knew I wanted to go to Baylor, but I’ll be the first to admit that I was never the biggest fan of Texas.

When applying to schools, I was blessed with plenty of options, many of which resided on either the West or East coast. Yet I still chose the school in the heart of Texas, which I suppose does sound a little crazy. After giving it a lot of thought and even second-guessing my decision I finally realized why I was so drawn to this school.

How many other schools can you think of where students are allowed to run on the football field before games? Or were around before Texas was even a state? Or that have such a strong Christian atmosphere that absolutely radiates through both the staff and students? This school stands so firmly in its original traditions in values and does an amazing job of translating them to present day. It is ever-changing to accommodate modern-day society yet so unchanging. One of the most important values that it upholds is its dedication to the Lord and constant positivity even in troubled times.

Just a few months ago, Southern California was affected by a number of fires, many of which were within a few miles of my house. It was an incredibly stressful time for me being so far from home while my family was back home just waiting for an evacuation warning. Many other schools would have just made a general announcement about how the people affected are in their thoughts and prayers and that would have been the end of it.

A day or so into the fires, I got an email from my school saying they knew my hometown was facing difficult times and that they wanted to make sure I was doing okay and that I knew I had people to talk to if I needed it. How many other people do you know that go to a school that cares about them THAT much?

So to answer everyone’s question: I left Southern California to come to the middle of Texas to join a community that is truly like no other. I came to be surrounded by people who love their school as much as I do and serve Christ how I desire to do so. I can guarantee that no matter what school you visit or attend, wherever it may be, you will never meet a group of people as genuinely caring and passionate about serving the world as the students and staff of Baylor.

To gain a blessing like that makes having to leave Orange County completely worth it.