This week, this show I am deciding to write about is one that found most of its fame over a decade ago, yet is still enjoyed all around the country with viewers ranging widely in age. This show, which I watched my freshman year of high school, is One Tree Hill. What I remember most about this show is its sense of reality while also throwing in some not so relatable aspects.

     The begging of the series starts off with the cast all in high school, with the cliche incorporation of a popular athlete with the attractive girlfriend, who somehow has a connection to the less popular, talented, character. In One Tree Hill, the two happened to be half-brothers. Adding to the predictability of the show, the more popular brother lives with his father and mother, in their grand home, as he lives to fulfill his father’s dreams of his son playing professional basketball. The other brother, lives with his single mother, paying for rent with her small business and hopes for their income to be enough to provide for their family. Though the show does follow the brothers and their friends through their journey in high school, there is a time jump between seasons ahead five years, where each person has now developed a form of career and family of their own. While some of the characters are married with kids, others are still trying to find the most suitable profession for themselves. Often times I really do not like when television series with jump with their plot years into the future, as I feel like I am being left out of so much crucial information, however I really enjoyed this addition to the plot, as I feel like it really moved the plot along into parts of the characters lives that the audience would not normal be able to see.

     Though the plot itself it a little spotty as I finished the series four years ago, what I do remember the strongest about watching the series is how many feel-good moments I enjoyed throughout the series. The series had more than its fair share of drama ranging from break ups to children, to even school shootings, yet incorporated so many times that I can personally say I felt a sense of happiness and serenity while watching.

     I would recommend this show to people who enjoy the predictability of high school drama, but also find real life incidents intriguing in a series. Though this is much different than the last show I reviewed, The Vampire Diaries, I would say that both shows incorporate the same type of plot. I enjoyed this show very much, but I do warn those wanting to possibly start watching, if you are someone who cringes at the cheesy lines in movies, you may want to keep your distance, because these characters are all too familiar with grand gestures and heartfelt speeches.

For my first passion blog of this semester, I deemed it reasonable to start this blog with one of my all time favorite shows ever. This show, known for its drama as well as its impressive length in seasons is one of the first series that Netflix picked up and has been one of their most popular for years. This series comes from none other than the genius Shonda Rhymes, and is most likely her most well known television hit, Grey’s Anatomy. As a child, I remember watching random episodes with my parents of Grey’s Anatomy here and there, but never as a full series. I would catch an episode once or twice a month, and try to piece together within the what seems like shortest hour ever recorded. As I got older, I decided I had to start from the beginning of the show and watch it fully to understand what the characters were really about, and be invested in the plot. When I began to watch Grey’s Anatomy from the begging, I remember it being a long process, but being overjoyed to be able to catch up on the show as the tenth season was about to air live on cable. I rushed to finish all of the nine previous seasons, and waited anxiously to be able to fully enjoy an episodes of Grey’s while it played on television, and be informed about all of the characters and drama I had previously been blind to. Even now, as a college student, and as Grey’s Anatomy is venturing on to its sixteenth season, I still text my parents every Thursday night to check if they are watching the show as well, and then every Friday morning to discuss if we liked that a episode or not. As for my friend group, I would say that the series is definitely one of the most popular ones I have heard of or was encouraged to watch, and continue to encourage others to watch for themselves.

The series itself, for those who may be living under a rock and are unfamiliar with the basics of the phenomenon, the plot follows the story line of surgeons at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle on their medical endeavors as well as their personal drama that often influences their focus while at work. Though the show has gone through definitely its fair share of broken relationships, lost jobs, medical malpractice, divorces, death, and even a plane crash, somehow the show is much less bleak than it sounds. Weaved in with all of these disasters is also an equally important amount of happy loving relationships, marriages, children, saving thousands of lives, some amazing job opportunities and unbreakable friendships. Grey’s Anatomy, being one of the most well known drama television series in the world, did not gain its name for the simplicity and lightheartedness. Rather, the large popularity, I would predict, as it is what draws me in, is its key factor different from many other shows. The extensive work within the hospital. The writers of the show do not leave the audience in the dark when explaining a medical condition involved in the show, and often times explain it in depth while attempting to find solutions to the health issue. Often times, there are two or three patients involved in each episode requiring a life changing, or life saving surgery from the surgeons at Grey Sloan Memorial, and the audience becomes familiar with each case and possible measures to take, all within the forty two minuets of actual air time. The audience is also taken inside an operating room, as the team recreates visually what a surgery would look like.

I believe Grey’s Anatomy earned its popularity from the excessive amount of drama, as well as the medical aspect that many shows do not have. While some seasons come up a little short, and it is hard to write so many season, I believe the show still has some pretty good years left in it to provide quality entertainment. This season actually begins airing again this Thursday. While I love the show, and would recommend it to all, I would advise for anyone with a weak stomach or anyone who becomes anxious seeing blood to look away during surgery scenes, but keep your ears open, that is where some of the most important heart to hearts happen!

Greys Anatomy Logo Vector, www.brandeps.com/logo/G/Greys-Anatomy-01.

For my final blog, after discussing many differences varying in different places all across the country,  ranging from slang to shoes, to different snacks, I decided to end with something that I was not expecting to find as I moved. While some of these differences shocked me, and others were more expected, my final blog is about something I did not even know would vary around the country: sports. I have always been surrounded by sports. All of my siblings and I filled our weeks with games and practices for over a decade, and watching football and basketball games were what we looked forward to every weekend. Still, even though I no longer have games and practices to participate in, watching sporting events is something I find very entertaining, as well as a frequent event in my life. I did not realize until coming here, however that some people in other parts of the country did not have the same experience as me. Though they may also love sports, I have come to learn that the specific agenda I had when referring to sports could be different than that of someone who does not live in the east coast. I knew obviously different countries prioritized certain sports over others, yet I just assumed that as a country, I would have have the same view as my friends who only lived a few thousand miles away in a different area of that country.

My first hint of a difference only began at the beginning of this semester. My friends and I were talking about how excited we were to go to the football games throughout the fall, and the conversation began to shift to include other sports as well. As my two friends, one from New Jersey and the other from New York began to discuss the excitement around hockey games, and their need to buy season tickets, I was left confused. Obviously I had known hockey existed, and respected it as a sport, yet I had never actually heard anyone discussing a hockey game, and especially not with the enthusiasm they were expressing towards these season tickets. I think there may be some kind of hockey team in San Diego, but the fact that I can not even say that with certainty is enough proof of just how unpopular hockey is on the west coast. As time progressed from this discussion, and hockey season was getting ready to start, once again the same two friends were discussing how happy they were for the season to finally be around the corner. It still amazes me that a sport they grew up watching, one that their brothers played, and one that they attended many games of, is a sport I am not even sure how they keep score. I still have yet to be to a hockey game, and am not sure if I will ever be fully able to consider myself a hockey fan, but it is something I am actually very excited to explore and start watching games and possibly find a new sport I would enjoy! Though this may seem like a very minute thing to write a blog post on, I found it very interesting. One of my friends who is from Pennsylvania even said that he thinks hockey was the most popular and celebrated sport in his entire high school. Coming from a school that prided itself on their football and soccer team, and most of my peers agreeing with their lack of knowledge with the sport as a whole, this shocked me.

I found this entire blog a really interesting one to write pieces about. The many differences that arose throughout the semester were quite interesting and super fun to explore and write about, and I enjoyed hearing the feedback from my friends as well as my peers about how they observed the differences, coming from other parts of the country.

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The biggest difference I have faced so far is the most expected, and anticipated one. The most common change people warned me about, yet the one I feel I could not do enough preparing for. The weather. Coming from a place averaging seventy degrees year-round, I knew the change would be a big one, but not one I expected to happen so suddenly and so early on in the year. I am still mentally preparing myself for the idea of a snowing winter, but these thirty degree days in October and November were not something I was expected. I still haven’t even bought a winter coat, something I planned on doing during Thanksgiving break, before WINTER actually happened. I have learned quickly that was a large mistake. I wake up in the morning to a solid thirty something degrees, when all of my eighteen years living in San Diego I do not think I ever experienced colder than maybe forty five degrees on a cold morning. The other difference I found quite early on that I am not used to is the actual idea of seasons! This is something that many people would laugh at or could just be in shock about, as something they have always experienced. Like I said earlier, and I am sure will continue to mention, in San Diego, one of the few places in the country with a very bland weather choice, almost all 365 days of the year are within twenty degrees of the perfect seventy degree day. Reaching not more than ninety five on the warmest days, and hardly ever lower than fifty on the coldest, I knew the slightest move would be a drastic one in regard to weather. So rather than the slightest change, I moved thousands of miles into the middle of Pennsylvania, which most of my friends would not even consider largely because of the intense weather change. Coming here to Penn State, I anxiously waited for my first time experiencing some of these changes. Seeing leaves change colors, watching them fall as it gets colder, and eventually seeing snow on the ground! I still remember my roommate, who is also from San Diego, and I walking outside and seeing all of the leaves no longer green! These trees in themselves were different then the palm trees that we would usually find around home. These huge trees, many of which I have never seen before, are doing something I have always seen on TV and wanted to experience for myself, and now I am! My friends have already received countless snapchats of the leaves and their numerous different colors! Something none of us have actually gotten to experience before. I soon learned this gorgeous experience is a short one. Walking to school this week I found the leaves were not as pretty, and many of the trees now bare. Though this process is definitely not as pretty, it is still something I have never experienced before! It is so odd to see trees without any leaves on them. Not only are these visible changes things I am starting to become more and more familiar with, but the ones that I am begging to experience are ones I am learning through feeling them, rather than seeing them. The cold weather requires a lot more supplies than I originally anticipated. Coming to Pennsylvania, I lacked most of the things that people would normally not give a second thought. As I have learned through the taunting of friends who all grew up with cold weather, my wardrobe is not one fit for the soon to be freezing conditions. For the first time in my life I have started to look at things such as gloves, scarfs, beanies, and winter jackets. All things I would normally find cute in outfits, but never had the chance to fit into my own wardrobe. That is one thing I definitely am looking forward to! Even though everyone continues to tell me I will be completely over the cold in just a week. Hopefully I can last longer than that, but I am really not sure yet. I guess I will find out soon enough. Another change, and one of the less obvious ones that people do not warn you about is the change in plans you have to make. I have never really had to think too hard about the weather when deciding what to do during the day. Here it seems like plans must be altered in accordance to the weather. Something I find so odd. Little things such as having to take an uber to my plans even if it is a walkable distance, simply because I know I would be far too cold walking in this weather. There are many little things I would not usually give a second thought to I now have to consider, and vice versa with the typical things such as a change in leaves that people who are used to the cold are so familiar with. Though it was the change I was and continue to fear the most, I am also excited to actually be experiencing these seasons!

Urenko, Cayley, and Courtney Taylor. “Campus Tour Guides Explain the Difficulties of Recruiting during the Cold Winter Months.” The Daily Collegian, 25 Feb. 2019, www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/article_a8efb994-3896-11e9-aa14-7f83a42e1ea3.html.

      Though the difference within slang, style, and many more contributors to who a person is vary throughout different places, one thing I did not expect to find as I came to this part of the country, is the change in food choices, and familiarity with certain meals. Some of the most common snacks you would find in the average southern California home are evidently unheard of around the country.

     As I was organizing my snack drawer the other day, one of my roommates, who too was raised in San Diego, saw the assortment of food piled on my bed, and asked me for a “Clif Bar”. The most common brand of one of the most common choice of snack in San Diego. Having a Clif bar almost every morning for breakfast last year, and continuing the habit this year, I was in complete awe when my other roommate questioned what it was. She was born and raised in New York, and if not knowing the brand “Clif” was not shocking enough, she said it was practically rare for someone to eat a bar as a snack in her hometown. Mila, my fellow San Diegan, and I were shocked. Immediately handing her one of the bars and encouraging to eat it, I was still so surprised to find that something that is quite literally apart of my daily diet, someone who I was now sharing a room with had never even heard of. The roommate unfamiliar with the gift that is “Clif Bars” agreed with how good they tasted, and how convenient having a bar for a snack is, despite her previous thoughts on the idea.

     Continuing through the night, there were many people in and out of our room, as their usually is, due to my room being a supplemental, and providing much more space for people to come over and act almost as a hangout room. I was laying in my bed, doing homework quietly to myself, as once again my snacking choices were brought into question. Seaweed. Another one of the most common snacks one could find in the average San Diego home. This sparked a loud and very confused reaction from the now nine people in my room, who all grew up within four hours of this exact campus. Every single one of them were shocked to see me enjoying the snack, once again saying they had never even heard of someone doing that. Then, something that seems to happen quite frequently occurred again, as Mila and I stared at each other shocked and confused as to our friends’ amazement. We went on to explain the individual packages of seaweed were extremely common at home, and ate them along with any another snack like Goldfish, that our parents would pack us for lunch at school. As the conversation continued, Mila walks to her bed only to prove really how common seaweed is, and pulls out the multiple packages she has in her designated snack storage, with flavors including wasabi and teriyaki. The rest of the people in my room, from varying parts of the east coast shifted from complete confusion to being intrigued, and wanting to try the snack. Similarly with the “Clif Bar” unfamiliarity, many of them were pleasantly surprised by their interest in the snack, while some of them were happy they had never tried it before.

Coming from less than an hour away from the US/Mexico boarder, I grew up with Mexican food being the go to choice for nearly any occasion. From getting carne asada fries with friends before going out, or having street tacos cater literally every event, or even always having breakfast burritos as a class after achieving a certain task. It was probably the most common type of food throughout the entire San Diego county. Out of the thousands of different menu items across the hundreds of different restaurants that serve Mexican food in San Diego, by far the most common option is a California Burrito. You could ask absolutely any San Diego local, and they would tell you exactly what the burritos consists of, and exactly which spot has the best ones in their opinion. It’s also a running joke when someone goes on vacation, as soon as they get back into town they have to stop at one of the Mexican restaurants near the airport and get a California Burrito, since they have gone days without one. So you can imagine my despair when no one on this side of the country knows what a CaliB is, or has never even had good Mexican food. I tried. I have now tried three of the different Mexican restaurants around State College, and it is safe to say each of them have been nothing short of horrible. My roommate and I have even considered having friends and family who are still in California try to overnight ship the burritos to us. Though I am thoroughly disappointed with the lack of knowledge about Mexican food this part of the country has, it geographically makes sense. Now being so much further from Mexico, I expected there to be an evident lack of familiarity, just not this much. I have yet to find something from this area that I can say I am personally unfamiliar with, but I am excited to find some things. As for anyone reading this, and also does not know what a California Burrito is, I would encourage you to try one immediately, preferably from the Cotijas in San Diego.

     When I first moved in to school, and it became real that I actually live in Pennsylvania, it was very odd. It still is, and I honestly do not plan to really fully adjust to the change, but everyday it seems a little more like my reality. Although I still hate having to scroll all the way to the “P” states when I indicate my address when online shopping, and having to explain to my friends that Penn State is in the state of Pennsylvania, which is more often than one would predict, I think all of the differences I am noticing have made it just that much more exciting that I am where I am now.

     Though I am slowly becoming adjusted to the odd terms I hear on the daily, there are certain trends that I do not expect to get adjusted to any time soon. Certain styles of shoes especially. I knew inevitably when I was making the move from the west coast to the east coast I was going to see Birkenstocks. The shoes, which prior to this August I had only seen on social media, are something my friends and I would only joke about. “Jesus Sandals”, “Hippie Slippers” and many more names were associated with the brand. Now it feels like if you are not wearing “Birks”, then you are missing out on some big part of the culture at Penn State. Sadly, however, I am not as opposed to the brand nearly as much as I was upon my arrival in central Pennsylvania. I have honestly considered making the purchase myself a few times, yet come to my senses before actually following through. The popularity of the shoes, however shocks me considering the location in which they find most of their revenue. One would think, in a place that is around 70 degrees throughout the year, as it is in San Diego, that sandals that are easy to put on and can be actually quite fashionable, would be a saving grace. Conversely, it is the parts of the country that get into negative degrees and snow that seem to have found an interest. Though I am not completely sold on the idea yet, I think a few more months of seeing Birkenstocks everywhere I go may have me convinced to find a pair of my own.

     Another footwear phenomenon that I have noticed, yet can say with certainty that I will never be apart of, is Crocs. Not even as a child did I have any desire to wear them, while everyone else was finding pins and fun things to accessorize with, the shoes never really sparked my interest. Now, in present day, as a seventeen year old, on a college campus, I am shocked with how many people I see wearing the shoes. This is a trend absolutely no one would participate in I am assuming in the entire state of California, but definitely not in San Diego. The first pair I saw, I thought the person was wearing them as a joke, to be funny around his friends. Then as I began to see more and more people wearing the same shoes, I began to realize they were in fact wearing them seriously. This is a style choice that you would almost never ever find on the west coast. Quite frankly, I am not sure why or how this fad has resurfaced over the last decade, but it is one that when it dies down the next time, will hopefully be for good.

     Walking down the streets of San Diego, on an average teenage girl, it is rare to spot someone drifting away from the norm. Whether it coincides with the idea of California being “basic” or just sticking to what they know, only very few brands are actually worn, while most others are strayed away from. The most common style is by far a white sneaker, included brands such as Vans, Converse, Adidas, Fila, and Nike. Sandals are nearly all Rainbow brand, while Kate Spade and Michael Kors are seen on occasion. As for anything resembling crocs, I have yet to see on anyone I know personally.

     The different brands of shoes is something I was very surprised to find differ so greatly in two different parts of the country. Though some style changes were expected, I did not take time to consider them to be within shoes. I am still adjusting to the many unexpected differences between the over two and a half thousand miles, but they seem to get more and more interesting as time goes on. As for myself, I think I am going to stick with what I am familiar with shoe wise, and continue to wear my white sneakers for a majority of my days.

“Penn State? But that is so far! It is going to be such a big change!” If I had a dollar for every time I was told that when explaining my college decision I would be able to actually make a dent on my out of state tuition cost. Little did I know that the distance between my new home, and the place I have lived my entire life, 2556 miles to be exact, would not be the only thing that would take a little getting used to. From the minor details such as accents, to difference in music, to a preference in shoe brands, I’ve been on the east coast now for only 28 days, and I think it is safe to say I have seen enough differences within mannerisms and linguistics for an entire year. The first time I realized there were endless amounts of differences within specifically dialect from different parts of the country was when I was having a conversation with my roommates, two of which are from the east coast, New York and Pennsylvania, and the other who is a familiar face also from San Diego. She seems to be in as much disbelief as myself when we hear the obscure terms our new friends use. Discussing something as simple as what we refer to a carbonated drink in a can, is what sparked a fascination amongst my friends and I as to what other differences we could discover between one another. Soda or pop? Though I have heard only my grandfather, a seventy-one year old man from the Midwest refer to a coke product as a pop, I knew that for some odd reason there were thousands of others who did not take a second thought as to what term they use to reference the drink. As odd as I find the lack of acknowledgment of the pop people of the world, I began to realize that I, too, do not give the term soda a second thought. Though I may be biased, I believe soda just sounds the best, whether that’s due to me growing up in California, or my ability to listen for the best sounding term, I guess we will never know. Though the pop and soda debate is ones decades old, and I was expecting the discrepancy living on the other side of the country, there were a few differences that caught me off guard within my first few weeks in the eastern side of the country. One that I still have not grasped completely is the use of ‘supper’ in place of ‘dinner’. I believe the last time I heard the term supper was quite literally in reference to The Last Supper, in a religion class in high school. Already being overwhelmed by all of the new things about to begin in my life, moving into my dorm, leaving my parents, and preparing for my first week of college classes, the day after I moved in, my roommate, who’s home is no more than fifteen minuets away, asked what time we were planning on going to supper. After about ten seconds of silence and confused looks around the room, the three others in the room, including myself, asked her if she really just used supper in a sentence. The straight look on her face gave us our answer immediately, and after laughing and taunting for about another minute, we began to discuss what other terms we may differ from using coming from three different parts of the country. This list has continued to accumulate over the weeks, and includes differences from topics varying from how one orders in an ice cream shop to what a party in the daytime would be referred to as. I presume the list will continue to grow over the weeks, and expand into some very unexpected contrasts in daily language, as I am already shocked less than a month into the move. Over the course of this blog, I plan to discover and discuss differences in what is beginning to look like everyday life living on the west coast in comparison to the east coast. Varying from certain types of lingo, to brands of clothes, and even the pronunciation of words, the differences may be more vast than one would presume. I know there were definitely more than I personally anticipated. Aside from the differences in language and preferences, I also plan to acknowledge and evaluate the variety of certain actions I have seen, such as a connection between the way people may hold their phone to text, and its correlation between where they have grown up. Something as small as the hand placement on a smart phone, I have come to notice, could actually be influenced by which side of the country they grew up in. I am intrigued and excited to evaluate and respond to the many differences I continue to find over the period of this blog, and how it may impact my adaptation to a school located in a far different section of the country than I consider home.

Two topics that I think I could write about for my passion blog this semester are mainly things I have noticed recently, and could find interest in writing about in my blog. One of my ideas would be to compare and contrast the differences between linguistics as well as cultural experiences between the east coast and west coast in the United States. I have found already, in the few weeks being on the other side of the country countless differences within speech and mannerisms based off of where a person previously lived. This is something I find very odd, yet intriguing and think could result in an interesting read on my passion blog post. The second topic I find myself to be passionate about, and think could possibly make for a good blog, is the presence of racism in contemporary society. Even in 2019, as we consider ourselves to have more progressive mindsets, the lingering presence of racism has yet to completely disappear in our nation. This is a topic I am extremely passionate about, as I see it occurring quite often to those around me, and is something I have always felt needed to be addressed. Especially now more than ever with certain political situations, the idea of racism seems to be promotes rather then discouraged around the country, which I know is something I am extremely passionate about, and willing to write a blog discussing.

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