Coming to college is a big transition for anybody, especially with new people, living conditions, and academic challenges. For many students, Connecticut–and the East Coast in general–is very different from their home. Some people deal with the transition better than others, but for some, it’s important that they remind you where they’re from at least once a day. I’m looking at you Californians. If you couldn’t already tell by their constant sandal wearing and long golden-blonde surfer hair, along with their frequent use of the words “rad,” “gnarly,” and “chill,” the Californian in your life is sure to expose their origins with any combination of the following actions:
Complaining about the lack of avocado toast
There are ways to get around the woeful lack of avocados in the dining hall. It takes some effort and some expert budgeting, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Most likely, your California roommate has already bought a few avocados from Durfee’s to keep away the homesickness.
Losing all sense of rationality over the 2 snowflakes that fell in October
Yeah, a few snowflakes fell on campus midway through October. But it’s almost a 100% fact that nobody who has experienced a real winter considered that actual snow. Save for the Californians, who flooded the Gram with pictures of themselves in the “First Snow of the Winter!! #EastCoast #Snow #Zen #SoCold”. We’ll see where that excitement is once the real snow hits.
Commenting on the fact that this is going to be their first winter at least twice a day
Just in case you’d forgotten, they want to remind you. “Wow, this is going to be my first real winter,” they say, as they struggle through their CS50 pset. “Wow, this is going to be my first real winter,” they announce between bites of bagels and lox at bagel brunch. “Wow, this is going to be my first real winter,” they muse as they walk out of another successful night at Woad’s.
Claiming that In-N-Out is home to the greatest burger
In-N-Out burgers are good enough (and their grilled cheeses are pretty great too), but for Californians, In-N-Out has become a statewide symbol of pride, something to be bragged about between bites of a “mediocre” burger from Shake Shack. If your roommate hasn’t mentioned this in casual conversation at least 40 times, they probably aren’t from California–or maybe they are a vegetarian, in which case, they probably don’t love In-N-Out all that much.
Talking about that life-changing juice cleanse they did one time
Juice cleanses aren’t just a LA stereotype that all self-respecting celebrities have partaken in, they’re real. And your California roommate has most definitely done one. Not only that, the cleanse was life changing and something they recommend that everybody try at least once in their life.
Thought that there was an earthquake
Not so much annoying, but just a consequence of living in a state where earthquakes happen quite often. Sometimes when an especially loud car passes or something bumps into the other side of a dorm wall, it can sound a bit like an earthquake. It’s likely that your roommate has jumped once or twice, thinking they were in the middle of one, before quickly realizing that the earth on the East Coast just isn’t as prone to shaking.
