One of my favorite things about being a USC student is enjoying the great, sunny, spectacularly predictable weather of southern California. Even in the Coliseum today, the Jumbo-tron announced present conditions of 80-degree weather, calm winds, and 21% humidity. If that’s not perfect, I don’t know what is.
Game Day 10/29/11 - USC vs. Stanford. Great weather, great game, and a third over-time I don't want to remember...
Having lived on the East Coast over half my life, the majority of those years in northern Virginia, I’ve had my share of cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers. Although I was born in California, I would never truly comprehend the scope of California weather until I moved here for college, spending finals week in December wearing shorts and t-shirts.
I took this on the Santa Monica Pier over Thanksgiving Break. Priceless blue sky, and it wasn't even too cold to ride the Ferris wheel!
Since I don’t want to seem too idealistic, I must say there actually are a few drawbacks of having temperate weather most of the time. For example, my first Fall semester year flew by without my usual perception of the seasons, when I usually would have restocked my wardrobe with winter apparel by October. Suddenly it was mid-November and I wasn’t even craving a Pumpkin Latte yet!! What happened to those frigid mornings where I had to struggle getting out of the covers, dreading the icy wind at the bus stop? When I would see my breath during field hockey practices? Californians might pretend to relate, recalling a recent trip to Tahoe or Big Bear, but a weekend in the mountains isn’t the same as experiencing the transition of an East Coast autumn to an East Coast winter.
No, there’s no plethora of cardinal-colored deciduous trees in California compared to the Shenandoah valley, but if I want snow I can always wait until I go home for Winter Break. It’s a sacrifice I’m more than willing to make, knowing that I can count on a little sunshine to light my way to campus everyday for class.
Palm trees are better anyway.
