Ava Mason moved from Iowa two years ago expecting the worst when she entered Lamorinda smack in the middle of Junior high school.

“I felt I wouldn’t really fit in when I came to California,” Mason said. Diverse and friendly, her home in Des Moines was near many friends and family, and farms. “Moving to a more rural area in the Bay Area made me feel more comfortable during the move,” she said, “Outside of Des Moines were lots of farms and flat land.”

Moving into school life, Mason met a friend named Anya that connected her with other friends. Once Anya moved away, Mason realized the pressure she faced.

“I think in California there is a certain way to act and dress different than Iowa, people are different, even the schools are different,” she said. She believes the Lamorinda schools are very competitive and hard, and have changed her.

“The move has changed me, I have met more people and they are very different, which I think is a good thing,” she said. Mason is currently a freshmen at Campolindo and has been in Moraga for two years.