When you meet new people in college, the first question most people ask is “where are you from?” For most people, this is a simple question with a simple answer that requires no thought. For me, on the other hand, being asked where I’m from fills me with anxiety because I never know how people are going to react. This is because I am from *deep breath* … Tallahassee.
Yes, I am a local. I know, I know. Coming to college, my status as a local was the last thing I expected to have to worry about. But I quickly learned that it was going to be a bigger part of my college experience than I thought.
When I was in high school and first began to think about college, I always planned on applying to Florida State, but it wasn’t originally my first choice. In fact, I was notorious for saying I couldn’t wait to get away. I wanted to go out of state but deciding I didn’t want to live with enormous student debt for the rest of my life, I knew staying in Florida was the best option. I toured everywhere except FSU – UF, UCF, USF but none of them felt right. With a push from my mom, I reluctantly turned to FSU. And walking around campus, I knew it was the school I belonged at.
Once I actually stepped foot on campus for my first semester, it surprised me how shocked people were that I was from Tallahassee. A lot of people don’t seem to know how to react. I never thought it was that weird, but I suppose most students coming from out of town only picture Tallahassee as a college town. But growing up in Tallahassee and going to Florida State are two very different experiences.
For starters, I was rarely ever in CollegeTown or near campus. Sometimes, my school held ceremonies and events on campus, but other than that, my first real-time on campus was when I toured. FSU’s campus and CollegeTown seem like an entirely different city from the Tallahassee I grew up in. Most college students here think the only fun things to do in Tallahassee are go to football games or the bars and clubs. I didn’t even know Tallahassee had bars and clubs until I was halfway through high school. The fun and local things my friends and I did when we were younger included going to the many interesting museums we have here (it is the capital of Florida, after all), going to the movies, or going to Skate World or Sky Zone (must-dos for any age).
Also, I didn’t automatically have a group of friends when I came to Florida State. In fact, I’ve barely seen any of my high school friends since school started. Only a few came to FSU too, and the rest either moved or go to TCC. But even though some of them are still local, FSU is another world, as I said before. And even though my parents are only a short drive away, I’ve only seen them once since the start of the semester.
Although I technically stayed in the same city I grew up in, it feels like I’ve moved hundreds of miles away. So, next time you meet a “local,” remember: we’re just the same as you, and it is NOT that weird.
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