It is a dream to move out of state. Maybe down south to somewhere warmer where the sunshine never seems to end. But what about the things that go into moving?

Dropping everything, leaving your family and friends behind, and starting a new are all of the hard things involved with moving. Everything that was once routine is not anymore.

For senior Gabby Cronk, this is nothing new when she headed 2000 miles west with mixed emotions floating around in her head.

At age of 16, Cronk and her parents, Theresa and Oscar, packed up and moved to the sunny place of San Diego.

But it was not that easy. First was the plane ride that left Cronk with her aunt out in California for two weeks before her mom flew out to hunt for their own apartment. After a period of settlement, that took about six months, Cronk’s dad came out to meet them.

“It was a rash decision that we just made,” said Cronk. “It wasn’t well thought out financially either, all of our family is in Illinois.”

Originally it was in the plans to stay out there for longer than a year. But upon arriving, junior year had already begun for almost all of California. Schools there have classes year around, so when Cronk arrived in August, school had been in session for six weeks.

With plans to go to UCLA or UCSD after high school to study Psychology or take Pre-Meds, there had to be a lot of adapting.

“Everyone there is not as cliquey,” said Cronk. “Everyone was super involved in school whether it be a sport or choir.”

But it is exactly what you would think it was like, all girls wearing white converse, high waisted shorts with flannels tied around their waste…the whole shabang.

How school was looked at was a lot different there too, no cameras, no enforcement of rules, it was an odd free for all.

“During lunch you could just do whatever, because everyone in the school had lunch at the same time and it was just a whole lot of people,” said Cronk.

With this being said, Cronk liked to spend her time in more productive means too, like going paddle boarding or visiting the local In N’ Out Burger on  warm afternoons.

But all good things come to an end. After realizing that California was not the place for the Cronk’s, it was time to move back home to Illinois and finish off senior year. With plans to attend Northwestern and with an open mind on her majors, there will be more adventures from here for Cronk.