(17, WA, USA) Anonymous - Washington

When I was five, our family decided to move to Washington from California as my dad had recently lost his job and had to relocate. I remember pulling into the driveway of our new rental home; it was dark and cold, and it seemed like it rained earlier. The leaves and grass were dewy. I didn't understand why I was here. How can a family from the hills of sunny California, a state that is full of brown people and sunshine, move and live in Washington, a state known for its lack of brown people and its gloomy weather? I had to slowly adapt that my peers were not going to understand me if I kept speaking Punjabi, the language I was taught at home, I would occasionally accidentally slip out my Punjabi. One thing I especially had a hard time getting used to was the constant freezing rainy weather. I hated how it would be so cold all the time. But after modifying to that I now prefer the autumn weather. I now love how the leaves change colors and fall down. A couple of years later we purchased our own home down the street from the rental house. Though we still live in Washington I would not want it any other way.