As a Chicagoan, I always thought that I’d go to a college on the East Coast with lots of ivy and New England prestige. Surprisingly, I ended up pursuing my secondary education here in the South, and I am not the only one. After being here for only a few short months, I have met countless other students from Chicago. Not only is a massive proportion of the student body from Illinois, but there are also numerous students from Georgia, Florida, New York, and California, to name a few. Even with the diversity, there are definitely some differences between students from the North and from the South.
For one, we react very differently to the weather. I’m pleasantly surprised that while the leaves are changing, the weather is still warm (kind of). It is the best of both worlds, but for some, it’s a revelation to see the leaves change at all. I can only imagine how people will react if it snows, and for all my peers from Chicago, I wonder what it will be like if it doesn’t.
Secondly, people are exponentially craftier. Back home, we bought generic Halloween costumes instead of coming up with cute, creative costumes. We used store-bought items from Target and Bed Bath and Beyond to decorate our rooms, and I have never had anything monogrammed in my life. The only time my name was on something was when my mom wrote it in my jackets.
The most noticeable difference would definitely be our accents. According to some, I have a distinct Chicago accent, but being from suburbia, it is only apparent when I say things like “frat” or “candy”. While I don’t notice my own accent, I have heard quite a few southern twangs since I got here in August.
Of course there are many things that bring us together, even just the mere fact that we all somehow ended up here at Vanderbilt. Still, despite millions of similarities, it’s the differences that make going to school in the South such a new and great experience.