Dear Philadelphia,

I just wanted to thank you for being my home away from home this past year. I had some reservations before getting up and moving to the East Coast from the South, but thankfully you welcomed me with open arms. But, there were some things that did strike me as odd in my year here.

For one, y’all here in Philadelphia say “you all” or “you’ll,” which is just strange. And just a heads up for future Philadelphians: nobody calls them “Philly cheesesteaks,” they are simply called “cheesesteaks.” I guess when you are in Philadelphia, they end up just being ordinary, which is the same for the “Philly pretzel,” I mean… pretzel. The food situation was definitely one that I never imagined being so difficult.

I know I have made my point about food, but this one is near and dear to my heart: queso. As I am sure Y’ALL know, “queso” literally translates to “cheese” in Spanish but what I am assuming you do not know is that it is one of the most delicious dips in the entire world. And, I mean the entire world. Yet almost everyone in this lovely city thinks queso is movie theater nacho cheese! While you may be confused as to why I might be ranting about the lack of queso in one of the most historic cities in the United States of America, I find it a perfectly valid point.

Philadelphia, you were very important in the American Revolution, and are the home of some pretty cool stuff, such as the Liberty Bell and the place where they signed this random document called the Declaration of Independence! Jokes aside, you are a pretty amazing place to be… on the other hand, not an amazing place for sports to be.

Coming from Texas, we have an endless amount of pride for anything to do with the Lone Star State. The same cannot be said about Pennsylvania. To be quite honest good ol' Philly, why do you have the worst sports teams imaginable?? The sports in your city are so bad that not a single Philadelphian can tell you the name of any of the teams, and I am not exaggerating! Anyway, do you think the Sixers can stop being the center of every joke soon? Although, to be quite honest, I do find it hilarious that such a huge basketball fan, such as myself, ended up in the city with the worst team in the NBA.

Lastly, Philly, you are oh so cold. But, it was fun experiencing actual feet of snow for the first time in my life. Not so fun living in it well into April.

Who knew just moving 1,290 miles away from Dallas, I would be living in a completely different world? I did not, that's for sure. Anyway, thanks for the memories, Philadelphia. You brought a lot of people, including my friends and me, together as we wandered around your streets and simply soaked in the City of Brotherly Love.

XOXO,

Insiyah

P.S. Is there anything you can do about the geese plaguing this city??

P.S.S. I would like an official weather investigation on why it only rains on Tuesdays, thanks.