Why I’ll always be proud to call Miami my home

Unless you’re from the Boston area, chances are coming to college means going away from home.

And on the 50 percent chance that you happen to be recruited from sunny California, you’ll get this. But to all of my fellow Miamians, there’s a good chance you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. This one’s for you. Here’s everything I’ve picked up since coming to Harvard – and why I’ll always be proud to call Miami my home.

Everyone always asks if I’m ready for the winter

Yes, I get cold and I may require an extra layer or two of protective gear but heaters were invented for a reason and for the next month and a half they will be my best friends. (And to all you native Bostonians, don’t pretend like they won’t be yours too).

Everyone always asks if I love the beach

This was the first and last time I went this past year

I don’t, actually. Maybe it’s just because I take it for granted, but the idea of sand under my nails and salt on my skin is not one I enjoy. Beaches are alright and so are tan lines but I don’t miss them. You know what I do really miss? The food.

I really REALLY miss the food

I love home cooked meals as much as the next person but that’s not the kind of food I mean. I mean the food from Latin restaurants you can ONLY get in Miami, the“holes-in-the-walls, the Cuban bread, the pastelitos. If you’re from Miami you know what I’m talking about.

I was really scared about cultural shock

Never in my life have I felt “different.” You see in Miami, different is the norm. Everyone always talks about it being the melting pot of cultures and sometimes that seems like an overused adage, but it’s unsurprisingly true. The possibility of cultural shock scared me but it never happened. There is a good deal of diversity, true, but even more so, everyone is too accepting of culture and race to treat you like you’re “different.”

The truth about homesickness

I’m lucky my home is a great one, but I’ve never been homesick. It’s not because I’m too busy to be homesick, or because I pretend not to be, but simply because Harvard feels like the right place to be.

Miami will always be home…

It will be the place I go to to retire – and not because I want to go clubbing when I’m 60 (though the idea has crossed my mind). I’ll return at some point in my old age because it is a city that has culture like no other, where I feel safe, and where the warmth of the people radiates on the gloomiest of days. I’m proud to call Miami home.

…But I’m also so glad I’ve found a new home

In the few months that I’ve known Boston, I’ve fallen in love. And the truth is, it wouldn’t be the same without the frosty December (or January, or February) air. So as I return time and time again to this city of magic, the nesting place of some of my greatest dreams, I hope to never lose the wonder that this city holds for me. And I hope, I can only hope, that this city will one day also be mine.