I wait at gate B-27 sitting on the edge of my seat. My Mocha Chip Frappe in my shakey hand. My grandma was going on the trip with me and she kept telling me to stay calm. The thing was that there was no way I that couId stay calm even if I wanted to. I pull out my phone to call my mom for the fifth time to tell her how excited I am. As I hear the ring of the phone I also hear over the intercom, “Gate B-27 to San Diego, California is now ready to board”. I then hang up my phone and jump out of my seat to be the first in line. When I reach the front of the line I am told by the flight attendant that I have been upgraded to first class. This news made me even more excited for my trip. When I got on the plane I sat down and was told to have a nice flight.

The plane ride seemed to take forever while I watched the white, fluffy clouds out the window. I tried to keep myself occupied during the flight by watching tv or listening to music so that I wouldn’t have to suffer from the wait. This didn’t work because all I could think about what it was like there. So, I just had to be patient and wait to for the plane to land.

About five hours later at 5:30 pm California time the intercom comes back on telling all of the passengers that we are directly over San Diego. I then look out the window and see houses and buildings everywhere; there is no empty space at all. This is the city life that I have been longing for. The seatbelt light flashed indicating that we were beginning to descend. At that moment reality began to hit me and I could not control my excitement any longer. I was finally here!

As I got off the plane I immediately felt the warm California sunshine kiss my skin. This was a feeling that I could get used to. We quickly collected our luggage and then headed out into paradise.

The afternoon that we arrived we laid down at the pool and soaked up as much sun as we could. I sat on a pool chair taking everything into view; I still couldn’t believe that I was here. “Am i dreaming?” I thought to myself. I came to the conclusion that this is as good as life gets. I knew I wasn’t able to stay there forever, so I needed to make the most of the time that I had.

At that moment the adventures began.

The first morning that I woke up in California I went outside and sat on the balcony watching the beautiful sunrise. It was much more fascinating than any I had ever seen. I watched as the sun slowly crept up over the coast of the bay and began to light the sky. The warm rays began to warm my skin immediately.

I seemed to wake up quite a bit earlier than everyone else because I was still stuck on Michigan time. This didn’t bother me much; I felt like I had this beautiful place all to myself. Eventually everyone else in California seemed to wake up and go on with their busy lives. People began to crowd the streets and sidewalks. There were people hopping into taxis, riding bikes down the crowded sidewalk, and going for their morning runs. Everything was so calm and easygoing. I soon decided to hop into the shower and go look for what fun lies in the hands of the city of San Diego.

That day I ended up going shopping and heading down to the beach. The salt in the air and the sand in my toes made me never want to leave. I felt as though nothing could ever go wrong in this paradise that some people get to call home.

There was one part of my trip that I will never forget. Visiting the school of my dreams.

UCLA was the definition of perfection. It was exactly as I had dreamt but somehow it was even better. The campus was gorgeous, there were people all over, even though it was still summer break, and everyone was super nice to all of the students on the tour. Seeing this school made me not so scared of growing up, and I felt like I didn’t have to worry about being judged or accepted. Being here made me realize that I can start my life over and reinvent myself however I please; I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping up a reputation because nobody knew me.

It is awfully hard to get into this school, so if I don’t end up getting accepted to UCLA I would be able to settle for a smaller college anywhere in California. But hey, a girl can dream can’t she?

The rest of my time was spent living “The California Dream”, as I called it. I went to Santa Monica Pier to lay down on the beach for a day, shopped every chance that I could, and I also went to Novu, a local sushi restaurant in Malibu where I was on lookout for famous people.

My trip seemed to come to an end far too fast. Before I knew it I was back on the plane headed back to Michigan.

I sit in class regularly, day dreaming about what its like in California at the moment; wishing that I was there to find out for myself. Someday I will hopefully be able to see the sun shining and palm trees swaying in the light breeze everyday. I want to be able to tell my family back at home how beautiful it is and telling them about all of the differences that there is compared to my small, hometown in Michigan.

The sun on my skin, the salt in the air, and the wind in my hair is a feeling I will only be able to have if I ever go back to my paradise that everyone else knows as California.