My oklahoma university essay is forcing me to explain why i'm leaving the coast and it's harder than i thought

[Zara]

I grew up twenty minutes from the beach in San Diego. Like, literally the Pacific Ocean has been my backyard my entire life. I've taken it for granted in ways I'm only now realizing—the sound of waves when I fall asleep with my window open, the way the fog burns off by noon, the smell of salt and sunscreen and tacos from the shop down the street. My whole identity has been wrapped up in being a California kid. And now I'm trying to write my oklahoma university essay and I keep hitting this wall.

The wall is: how do I explain to someone in the middle of the country why I want to leave paradise?

Because on paper, it looks insane. My friends are all applying to UCLA, USC, Santa Barbara, all staying within driving distance of the coast. They keep asking why I'd want to go somewhere with... wait for it... actual seasons and tornadoes and no ocean. And honestly? I don't have a clean answer yet. What I do have is this feeling I can't shake—that I've been too comfortable. That the waves and the sun and the perfectly pleasant weather have made me a little soft, a little too content to just float. I visited Norman last spring and something about the flat horizon, the big sky, the way people looked me in the eye and asked real questions—it woke something up in me. It felt like a place where I'd have to try, where I'd have to actually become someone instead of just being another guy from San Diego.

My oklahoma university essay is trying to capture that without sounding like I'm complaining about my beautiful hometown. I'm not. I love California. But maybe love means knowing when to leave so you can come back with something to offer. Anyone else from a "dream location" struggling to explain why you're choosing somewhere completely different?

 

[MartaToms]

You said "how do I explain to someone in the middle of the country why I want to leave paradise?" But I think you're asking the wrong question.

You don't need to explain why you're LEAVING paradise. You need to explain what you're SEEKING that paradise doesn't offer.

Those are two different things. One is defensive ("I swear I'm not crazy for leaving this beautiful place"). The other is aspirational ("Here's what I'm hungry for that I haven't found yet").

Your essay should be the second one. Talk about what woke up in you when you visited Norman. Talk about the flat horizon and the big sky and the eye contact and the real questions. Talk about the version of yourself that might exist there. The California stuff is just context—it's the "before" picture. The "after" is what you're reaching for.

Your line about "maybe love means knowing when to leave so you can come back with something to offer" is absolutely beautiful. That's your thesis right there. Write toward that.