Is it Casual now?

Chapter 2 - Malia's perspective

My family moved from a large barn house on a farm in Vancouver Canada to the US last year for my Dad's job. He had worked for a large IT firm and was offered a major promotion if he moved closer to their New York branch. I was incredibly reluctant to leave Canada, after all, I'd grown up there my whole life, built myself the perfect circle of close friends and even managed to convince them to start a small band with me! I knew moving to an unfamiliar place would feel scary but I was also aware that my Dad really wanted the job and so who was I to stand in his way?

I have an amazing little sister named Ivory, well not so little anymore, she's going into seventh grade this year, which I actually still can't quite believe because to me she's still the same exact annoying 5 year old running round the house, watching Barbie on max-volume on her iPad and jumping on my bed. When I asked how she felt about the move, she seemed much more excited than I had anticipated, she told me she couldn't wait to go to all the American fast food places and clothes stores that we couldn't get back home and also to go skating in Central Park during Christmas time. I was really impressed with how well Ivory was adapting to everything...it almost seemed like she couldn't wait to see the back of Canada, however it did kind of make me feel like a bit of a baby knowing that my 12 year old sister was having an easier time dealing with the change than me (the eldest daughter who is supposed to be the brave one). 

In terms of education, I left Canada just after I graduated high school so I applied to a handful of US colleges when I found out about the move. I was skeptical that I'd get accepted anywhere but I guess I really need to start having a bit more faith in myself because when the dreaded moment came to open the emails, I found out that I'd gotten in to every college I'd applied to! I wouldn't say I was THE SMARTEST kid in my grade back in school but nor was I dumb, I'd always been good at English and other writing based subjects, probably because I love reading. But math and science on the other hand was a totally different ball game for me, like if you were to ask me what 'Newton's Law' was I might actually go into cardiac arrest. Anyways, now I'd gotten into the colleges, the final thing to do was to pick which one I'd want to attend, and after a lot of deliberation and research I made the choice to study music at NYU. I grew up in a very musical household so I think that's where I adopted my love and appreciation for it. My mom is a really great pianist and I remember as a child always being in utter awe whenever I'd listen to her play and watch her fingers glide so effortlessly over the keys, in fact I have to give her most of the credit for my current musical talent since she was the one who taught me practically everything I know and has really been my main supporter when it came to music. Despite my love for the piano, I found myself being more drawn towards the guitar in recent years mostly because it's much more of a social instrument, for example, if me and my friends are out on a camping trip it's easy to bring my guitar along with me and pull it out to strum them a song, whereas you can't exactly pack an enormous grand piano into the trunk of a car... well I mean you could try but it would probably break the door. 

It's currently my first semester as a Freshman at NYU and honestly.. it's not been half as nerve-racking as I expected. I suppose I've always been pretty anxious and prone to worrying when it comes to doing new things... in the sixth grade for instance, I had gotten my first relatively big role in the school play and I was super excited to perform but when it came to opening night I found myself not on stage with the rest of the cast but instead hiding in the janitors closet, frozen with stage fright, not my brightest moment for sure. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the idea of starting college in a different country where I knew absolutely no one had felt like I'd just been asked to swim in a tank full of killer sharks, terrifying. However, now that I was actually here, in New York, settled into my dorm room and getting to study the subject I love the most, everything sort of just seemed exciting and welcoming, like my life was falling back into place. I've made a few new friends, mainly from my music course but also some other people who are studying different subjects but who live in the same student accommodation building as me.