After I take my last final on Dec. 18, I’ll be boarding a plane to spend about a month at home in California. For a while I have been counting down to this day, and I thought I would never be able to...

Pick up any tourist guidebook about Los Angeles and one of the first spots it will tell you to visit is Rodeo Drive. Lined with designer shops, Rodeo is the perfect place to either go spend your parents’...

Like many other Californians, I expected going home for Thanksgiving break would be a vacation in heaven, away from the cold weather and the busy city vibe of Boston. I eagerly packed my luggage many days...

After living in Los Angeles for 18 years, I have never experienced real snow. I have, however, experienced fake snow. When I was little, my dad would take me to Disneyland around Christmas time every year....

Every region has its own slang. In New England, one slang term is “wicked.” In California, slang is part of the daily vocabulary. A number of people would argue that most of the slang words used around...

Coming from a Russian family, I have learned to always be a fighter. This value was especially stressed whenever I developed an illness. I was taught to fight it for as long as I could with only hot soup,...

After being at college for two months, separated from my home in California, I’ve been more than ready to have my dad visit. In order to avoid the craziness of Parents’ Weekend in Boston, he decided...

This time last year, I was just beginning my senior year in Los Angeles. My dress code up until December consisted of skirts, shorts, tank tops, light shirts and Converse sneakers. I didn’t own a pair...

My high school is a very tight-knit community in the suburbs of Los Angeles. My graduating class is fewer than 150 kids, and we were all friendly with each other. Since my school was so small, it was very...