As you may know, I'm leaving to college at Cal Poly Pomona for college this fall, and in exactly 4 days. I'm a huge array of emotions - terrified, excited, nervous, anxious, ready, happy, etc. Many of my friends and even some family really dislike the city of Las Vegas and are constantly awaiting their one-way ticket out of this city.. however, I actually don't really mind it too much and I certainly will miss a lot about it. Though i'm sure i'll miss a lot more than 5 things, these are the top 5 things that came to mind when writing this post.

5. The strip and the malls.

I know I'm not necessarily leaving Vegas forever, however, the idea of living in an iconic place where so many people dream of visiting is just so exciting to me. I can drive down the freeway and see the whole Las Vegas Strip skyline and still be in awe that I live in such a cool city. I'm moving pretty much to L.A., which is also a really cool, iconic city, but I've grown up in Vegas so there's some sentimental value to living here!



Check out the rest of the post by clicking the "Read More" link!

3. The concerts.
Almost every big artist or group has a stop in Las Vegas, that's just.. how it is. I've gone to a crazy amount of concerts and seen so many people that I admire live and in person simply because of the convenience of them being nearby to where I am. You see, Las Vegas is a big city but not as big as say, NYC or LA. That being said, the concerts aren't as ginormous here and I sort of like that about the concerts here. Not exactly sure where I'm going with this, but I can't express how much I just love the concerts here on the strip. It's just generally a huge experience I'll never forget and I'll definitely come back for artists I really want to see.

2. Being close to where I grew up.
It's kind of hard to explain what this feeling is, unless you've left some place you call "home" before. I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but I've pretty much lived in Las Vegas for most of my 18 years. That being said, I very much so consider Las Vegas my home - I've never lived anywhere else and I've just become so acclimated with the location, weather, people, etc. I'm really gonna miss knowing where everything generally is around me, like where to go when I want a good burger, where to go when I want to visit a little cafe, etc. Also, just being around my old high school, middle school, etc. is somewhat nice, knowing I can visit whenever I please. I'll certainly miss a lot of things about being around the area.

1. My family and friends.
The most important thing in my life is my family, and without a doubt, I'll miss them more than anything. I know I'll see them a lot of times throughout the year, and I'll be here during Summer break, but just the luxury of being able to walk out my bedroom door and see my brother, dogs, and my parents in the same house is just something I love so much and I'll never take for granted. I'm the oldest child in my family so I'm the first one out of the house, so this experience is just all so foreign for us, but I know for sure I'll make it through. That saying.. "distance only strengthens and tests love" is really something I believe in because I know that when I leave, I'll recognize all the little pleasures I'll miss about seeing my family all the time. I'm really close to my cousins as well and they've become pretty much some of my closest friends that I hangout with everywhere - I'll miss having them a 5 minute drive away. And last but not least, I'll miss my friends. I have really amazing friends and my best friend is pretty much like my twin, we just kinda understand each other. I know that my friends won't leave my side, but I'll certainly miss having them nearby.

This move is a huge step in my life and I know it's simply for the best. I'm ready to take on the real world and start working on the path towards building my career. I feel like once someone starts getting comfortable with something, they should try to change something up so that they can grow. I'm a firm believer in always trying to step out of your comfort zone in order to grow.. and I really believe this is one of the best opportunities I've had to do this. I'm so excited!