This campus is a kaleidoscope of backgrounds, cultures, and identities. Mizzou takes pride in it, as it should. Perhaps the most upfront difference comes in the various places that Mizzou’s students call home.
Even though sometimes it feels like everyone in your class is from the same high school in St. Louis, there is a large proportion of kids that come from far away states and cities, some of which many people have never been to. I’m one of those kids, born and bred in the deserts of Arizona.
To the surprise of my high school friends, I survived my freshmen year over 2,000 miles from my hometown. During that time, I came across the same questions time and time again.
1. Why would you ever come to Missouri? Alright, people, give your state some credit. It’s pretty nice.
2. Are you from Kansas/Illinois? Let’s face it; it seems like there are more Chicago people than Kansas City people on campus.
3. Are you majoring in journalism? For most of us, the answer is yes. At least for now...until we realize how hard the classes are before we make the switch to communications.
4. So you must not be used to his heat, right? If you’re from Minnesota or somewhere else in the Artic, then the answer is probably yes. But if you’re like me and you hail from the Southwest, this is child’s play, humidity or no humidity.
5. Are you ever homesick? If someone tells you no, he or she is a liar. Call them out on it.
6. Is that why you have an accent? This goes out to all you Southerners. Don’t let anyone make fun of you for it.
7. Were you scared to move? Terrified. But the bigger the move, the greater the numbness you feel during the actual process, and it doesn’t wear off until your family is already an hour into the drive back to the airport.
8. So you can’t just drive home? It took twenty-four hours of driving to get my car here. That’s a little too long to make it home in time for mom’s dinner. Out-of-state kids learn how to do their laundry, make doctor’s appointments and check the oil in their cars. The help you receive from your parents is reduced to phone calls and worried text messages.
9. So where even is (insert state name here)? Yes, I have gotten this question before. Geography is apparently a dying art.
10. Do you wish you'd stayed closer to home?Are there difficult days? Days when it seems like this was all a colossal mistake and you want to retreat to the place where everyone knew you from the beginning? Hell yes. But it will always fade, and something will come along to remind you why you made this difficult decision in the first place. Packing your belongings in a few suitcases and moving to a new state doesn’t just bring you to a new home, it brings you to a new you.
