Reflective Essay: My Vacation To Texas

It was 1981. I had just graduated from high school, and another four-year commitment to “education” was the last thing I wanted to do. The problem was that all those other things required money, and thus a job. Unfortunately, at that time the country was in a severe recession, and the only state that seemed immunized to it was Texas. I had to make the decision whether to leave my birthplace, my family, and my friends or to pursue a new life and adventure over a thousand miles away. I chose Texas, and since then I have learned it is sometimes better to move than it is to stay in one place.

'Pulling up roots' can be difficult, but sometimes it is necessary for the plant to blossom. My family had lived in Maryland for generations. It was hard to leave my grandparents, cousins, my brothers and sister, and of course, my parents. My friends …show more content…
With its piney woods in the East, it's four hundred miles of coastline, the Rio Grand Valley, West Texas desert, and Hill Country, Texas is one of the most geographically diverse state in the union. It has something for everyone. And although many Texans complain about the heat, few have had to dig themselves out of five foot of snow in subzero temperatures. Just as warm as the Texas weather is its culture. Perhaps due to the fact that most Texans aren't stacked on top of each other in Maryland-styled row houses, they seem to appreciate their neighbors. People in small town communities take care of, and depend upon, each other to a greater extent. The stereotypical Bible-thumper that I was warned about, in reality, is much more helpful and a lot less judgmental than I was told. Although this close-knit type of culture can be somewhat suspicious of outsiders, and even more so for Yankee outsiders, once you get to know them, and are able to break through their own stereotypes, you both realize that we have more in common than we do