missing snow

One of my friends asked me how I felt at this time during my first year of grad school. I told her that I was too busy mourning the cold weather that I had left behind in Minnesota to have any anxiety about school. Instead of worrying that I wasn't measuring up or that I didn't belong in grad school, I was mourning the loss of crisp weather, plummeting temperatures, frost, the changing leaf colors, and snow. Instead of worrying that I had made a mistake by going to grad school, I was worrying that I had made a mistake by going to grad school in California.

It snowed in Minnesota today. I am getting used to the fact that while my family and friends are cold in snowy Minnesota, I am here in 80 degree sunny California. As Halloween draws near, I find it ironic that as an adult, I am in a climate where there is no worry that it will be too cold to go trick-or-treating. There is no worry that a Halloween costume will be ruined by a winter coat, or that it may snow.

I don't plan to stay in Southern California after I'm through with grad school. I need to return to a climate with below zero temperatures and snow. Until then, I'm going to take advantage of the perpetually sunny days and nice weather. I'm already planning a beach day next weekend.