A Throwback: On Going Home

December 07, 2017 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

Prelude: I wrote this post after returning to my hometown years ago. It's rather sad, which is why I never posted it. Now after almost two full years after writing it, I feel mostly removed from it. I hardly remember feeling this way. My current headspace is much sounder and therefore am finally comfortable sharing it.

I was thrilled to be coming home. It had been a year, and the last time I came home was not for fun. It was going to be relaxing and exciting to be curled up in my old bed. It was going to be for a while, and not just a long weekend. I was even happy to be back in a shared room with my sister, just like old times.

But it's nothing like the old times.

Frozen: A Not-So-Fairytale

January 15, 2015 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, life lessons

Normally I don't complain about weather, the government, and inefficiency. I leave that to other people and their Facebook statuses. However, I really hope whoever is in charge of Richmond, VA's salt supply is reading this - because you are incompetent.

In case you aren't a Richmond local, it weather'd yesterday. I'm not sure about the means, but it's the ends that matter: I woke up on Wednesday to a city coated in ice. It's not like we didn't know this was coming. Since Saturday the forecast predicted something. And since Tuesday did not reach above freezing, did you not expect whatever precipitation that came down would not turn to ice? Do you not believe in the water cycle?

No, mayor/city planner/fool, I'm not retroactively asking that you should have stopped the sleet/rain/snow/whatever monster it was. You see, I don't believe in time travel; I believe in ice. Therefore, I'm asking: Why didn't you put salt down?!

Things I miss about Connecticut's Fall

October 30, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

As we can probably all agree, autumn is a really awesome time. If we can't remember, here's why fall is so exciting. And while autumn is good in Virginia, my heart still longs for a few really Connecticut-ish fall-isms. Now onto the list, using more real words than the previous sentence (hopefully).

Fall breezes. Obviously Connecticut is colder than Richmond, and I miss the crisp fall breezes that the North has, which the South lacks. Sure, I can throw a scarf on now, but my neck will sweat, which is sure wouldn't be doing in Connecticut right now.
Lyman Orchards. While this is a really specific one, it was only the mecca of all things fall. Apples, apple cider, pumpkins, hay, hay mazes, ducks, leaves, the whole fall 9-yards.
Cold mornings. Okay, so not cold morning, but slightly colder mornings. Not to the point that your feet turn to popsicles when they touch the ground (yeah, mom, calling you out for the freezer our house became in the winter). But I miss that feeling of a bit of cool air on your face when you wake up, making your bed feel just a little bit better than normal.
Soccer. Okay, so this one doesn't really count. But when I was in Connecticut, fall was soccer season (well, soccer season was every season, but fall soccer season was the best). It's not that Richmond doesn't have soccer, because clearly it does, but fall always reminds me of my youth and kicking a ball around.
Falling leaves. Sure, some are falling here, but not as many as in Connecticut.
My family. Fine, they're not specific to autumn, but we're in that stretch where we're gearing up for the holidays, and there really aren't any good times to head up for a few days before then.

Where do you live? What's fall like in your area? Sound off in the comments below :)

A Yankee in the Heart of the Confederacy

October 21, 2013 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

Whenever people find out I am from Connecticut, they automatically ask a series of predictable questions:

What are you doing in Virginia?
What is the biggest difference between the North and South?
I've never been to Connecticut. Is it like the Gilmore Girls?
Do I feel out of place?

In an effort to combat a lot of inquiries, here is my best way of explaining the difference between where I used to live to where I live now:

What are you doing in Virginia?

I came to Virginia for college and liked it so much I decided to move to Richmond permanently. A huge factor of that is that I got hired in Richmond and nowhere in Connecticut, so that really helps the decision.

What is the biggest difference between the North and South?

The biggest difference from Connecticut to Richmond isn't as big as anyone thinks. It's not like I moved from New York, New York to some bumbly town in Alabama (sorry Alabama). There are nice people that live in both locations and there are mean people in both places. There is a lot more snow in Connecticut, but Richmond gets a fall, which I know is what everyone stereotypes the South as lacking.

The word ya'll is pretty different. That one still gets me and makes me giggle a bit. We don't do that up North.

I've never been to Connecticut.

Of course most people don't go to Connecticut. Unless you have family up there or are passing through to go to New York, there is no huge draw to come to Connecticut. It is a lovely place, but I get it, there's nothing to make you want to visit.

Is it like the Gilmore Girls?

While I'm sure some of Connecticut is just like Rory's life in Gilmore Girls, that was not what my life was like at all. We don't all wear sweaters and drive BMW's to school, even though I would very much enjoy that.

Do I feel out of place?

And no, I have never felt out of place. Richmond is not as "southern" as people make it sound, nor are the differences even that significant. People need to stop making it sound like once you cross the Mason-Dixon line, life changes abruptly and all of a sudden you are in a new country.

I loved Connecticut. I had a great life and a great group of friends and family. However, I needed a change and a fresh start, and that is what Virginia provided me. I know people that grew up in Richmond and are dying to move away. If you stay anywhere for long enough, you'll probably want out. But don't expect that moving a few states away will be so foreign that you'll be feeling a significant amount of culture shock.