Coming to a southern state school for college being from New Jersey was a huge change for me, and I'm not just talking about the normal changes that come hand in hand with college.
The first week of school was a real eye-opener, to say the least. As I walked around campus, not only did I see changes in the way people dressed, but I also saw changes in people’s attitudes. Here are some of my first thoughts on the culture shock I experienced during my first week of college…
1. Chacos.
Never in my life have I heard of that word, in fact when I was talking to my roommate for the first time, I had to ask her for clarification on what those were. Come to realize the first week of school, that everyone has a pair of these sandals. Everyone. Girls and guys wear them from lounging around to walking around campus. I felt out of place not owning a pair being honest with you. However being from the North, I don’t think I can ever bring myself to buying a pair.
2. Long T-Shirts.
This is a trend that I have not seen one person wear in my high school or the North. This trend consists of girls wearing t-shirts that are one or two sizes larger than their normal size so that the shirts cover their Nike shorts or (norts) which I also never say. This ends up looking like girls are barely wearing shorts. Not the most fashionable thing but pretty comfortable, but I think I would wear it to bed instead?
3. The Act of Holding Doors Open.
Most of the time if you are walking around New York City or through the high school hallways, people do not take the time to hold the door for each other. Coming to school in the South, either you do the typical passing of the door, or guys will hold the door open for you and let you go before them. This is a nice change from getting the door slammed in your face as you walk seconds behind someone in the North.
4. The Country Slang.
As I am sure most of you have heard, southerners like to use the word y’all in their sentences. Being from New Jersey, it feels very unnatural to saying that word. Another thing I hear a lot is students addressing their Professor or an authoritative figure as ma'am or sir. This is common for both gender types and it makes me happy to see the attitudes that the students possess.
I have to say, the North and the South are two very different cultures. You can never truly understand this until you see it first hand. Since I grew up in the North, I will probably be keeping a lot of my ways of life and will most likely never buy a pair of Chacos, but I can tell you that there are some southern ways of life that I really appreciate and can see becoming accustomed to.
