There’s something about East Lansing. When I first arrived on campus in the spring of 2021, I didn’t know what to expect. I figured I would be on campus most of the time, and knowing me I would probably be in my dorm most of the time too. I’m not sure what propelled me to try every cafe and restaurant on East Grand River in the span of a couple months, and I surely did not expect to start my food adventures in Okemos and Lansing as well. I love food – everyone who knows me knows that. That’s why it hurt when I went to Ann Arbor for a trip and I saw all the restaurants, cafes, and bakeries aligning their streets. But, there’s something about East Lansing. Even though our number of stores aligning campus pales in comparison to Ann Arbor, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Perhaps familiarity is the best cure for confusion. I got used to campus relatively quickly, but during the hard days where I couldn’t focus on my homework in my dorm, I would go to Chapelure and drink some coffee there. My friends and I still sing tales of our infamous trips to the Peanut Barrel and Crunchys. And trust me, there is no better cure for a bad day than a shopping trip at Pitaya. East Lansing is a small town with comparatively less attractions than Ann Arbor. In those moments, though, where academics and social pressures make you feel overwhelmed, familiarity and small-business love make you feel so much more welcome to university.
There’s something about East Lansing. Maybe it’s just my home away from home. Here, my friends and I are free to be us, laughing at Tasty Twist or stopping by the McDonald’s way too often. No matter how many times my friends compare East Lansing to Ann Arbor, I know quality beats quantity any day.