Hi. I live in Massachusetts, about an hour outside Boston, the college capital of the U.S., if not the world. There’s 107 universities and liberal arts colleges in the small state of Massachusetts (Northeastern, Boston College, Harvard, Boston University, Bridgewater, and U-Mass just to name a few). My dad says it’s a shame I don’t want to take advantage of this, but I just really want to get out of Massachusetts. The weather is so cold, and the people are colder, and live such a fast pace life. I don’t want that life at all. I want to have a house on the beach in California and have a job I absolutely love. I want to go to the University of South California, but I know schools down there (the UCs) are so competitive, and it will be even harder for me to get in because I’m an out of state student. Do you think I should take advantage of the opportunities right in front of my nose, or should I try to get into a college in SoCal? There are so many amazing colleges here, I just want to get away from everyone I go to high school with. What would you do?