A typical scenario of many high school seniors: you choose a school far away from where you grew up, thinking only about how you want to leave your home so badly and go somewhere else. Start fresh, start new. You hold no real concept of anything you may miss back home or even how it can be very different in another state. You just commit to the idea of a whole new atmosphere, which is never a bad thing, but is a thing that may take more time than expected to get used to.
When you really want to change it up, you move far enough away that a plane ticket is the only true option home, and any college student knows that shelling out that much cash for a plane ride will only happen a few times a year, to account for the fact that you would like to buy food to eat and laundry detergent to do the heaps of laundry back in the dorm.
In my case, I took the leap from the ever so laid back, active, easy going Colorado to bustling, fast paced, vivid Massachusetts. To Boston, all the way on the other end of the United States, where Dunkin' Donuts coffee runs through everyone's blood, where Tom Brady is a god, and there is a tendency for people to tiptoe the line of being rude and blunt. I expected the altitude change, the brutality of the winters, the more frequent rain and the change of scenery, but what I didn't expect was the difference in words, people, ideas, and hobbies.
Two different cups of tea were placed in front of me, where I always drank the one on the left, but the one on the right looked intriguing, different than my usual.
My usual cup of tea was a warm soothing mix, where no one was in any real hurry and everyone ran on the time of what they wanted to fill their day with. Green chili is a favorite, and country music is a popular genre. Activities involving the mountains, trails, and scenery are a vast favorite among everyone, even those less inclined to be outdoors. Plastic water bottles are a monstrosity and recycling is needed, and organic anything is an idea very well liked, even by those who weren't health nuts. As one of the healthiest states, most serene states, Colorado has the flavors I am used to; and loved.
The foreign cup of tea was a mix of new cultures and different nationalities, and where type A personalities were much more present. I couldn't wake up to the mountains anymore but instead the bright lights of the city and the vast trees that covered all open land. People said what they wanted when they wanted, and it was more than normal to have more than one cup of coffee throughout the day, even if you didn't need it. There was a deep history embedded in the whole state and driving could be considered a stressful task with the winding roads and aggressive drivers. "Wicked" is a prominent adjective, and the chowder and fish are out of this world. With a lot of different ethnicities, it is a melting pot for new food, cultures, and people from outside the United States.
I was intrigued by the new cup of tea, interested in what these new people liked to do with their time and how they portrayed themselves. Do they hike on the weekends or do they go to the city? Do they like the same food as me or the same tv shows? I picked the new foreign cup of tea for my future, plunging into anything and everything it had to offer, trying to immerse myself in the seemingly vastly different culture. Yes, it was different but not that different when it came to what mattered the most, what mattered to people.
People's hearts are always in the same place, their feelings still very important. Everyone still wants comfort and love and support, and fear and heartache and loneliness are avoided. You want what is best for those important to you, and protect those who matter. What was lost in the transition was nothing but a different perspective, and a new angle on how to live and who to live it with. Family is still important, and your connections to those you surround yourself with is still a feeling of deep loyalty and respect. Someone in one state may want the exact same thing as one in another, and their lives would lead them at the start, on a different path, but may end up meeting further along with career choices and lifestyles.
I wasn't giving up my old cup of tea; I could always go back to it if I wanted that one more and missed it more than I could bear. Yet, the new cup of tea was a new way of thinking, living, and experiencing. Who could turn that away? Moving across the United States didn't change me into anything worse but rather better. It made me grow up, see everyone with more open eyes, and experience what others saw as important. So instead of picking one or the other, I took sips from both, creating a whole new pallet of flavors where I could have the best of both worlds. Where I could be in Boston and Boulder just at different lengths and times.
When placed in the position to be allowed the opportunity of trying something foreign, go for it, because if all else fails you can always fall back into the comfort of an atmosphere you know you love. Your past is still always going to be present and where you are in the moment can be the same as your future. Build up with both; create new memories in a new place with fresh people and exciting activities, and move away from the place where you are at ease with everything you do with everyone you’re with. See what else the world has to offer, and keep trying new tea until your full and content with people, places, and ideas. Who knows, maybe the tea you never thought to try will be your favorite.
