I grew up in a college town with a university in the Big 12 conference. I had the University of Oklahoma literally at my fingertips across town and decided that's not what I wanted. I decided I wanted to go to Kansas State.

There are definitely both pros and cons to being an out-of-state student.

One pro that I really appreciate is that I always have a conversation starter. Probably the most asked question for college students is, "where are you from?" I love being able to say that I'm not from in-state because it leads to an actual conversation about where I grew up.

I love meeting someone new and we might be talking sports, for example. I LOVE sports! Especially K-State and Kansas City Royals and Chiefs. I always get a kick out of it when I'm talking about these teams and then the person I'm talking with asks where I'm from.

They obviously think I'm from Kansas. You should see the look on their faces when I tell them I'm actually from Oklahoma. Once again though, it helps establish a friendship.

Speaking of making friends. When you meet a fellow out-of-stater it's basically an instant friendship. I love it. You get to bond over not being from the state you're going to college in and bonus points if you're both from the same state.

Like everything, there are some cons that come. Going to a college in a different state from where you grew up can be intimidating. I didn't realize how many people in Kansas know each other until I started school here.

But especially this year in my journalism class of 18 people, there were maybe three who didn't know anyone else. Guess which category I was in?

When you're not from the area you go to college in, there's a lot of places you're going to end up learning the names of. I'm not just talking other towns, but restaurants too. Luckily, some of my favorite restaurants now are in Manhattan. But wow, didn't realize how lucky I was to have Braum's 15 minutes away and now I have to drive an hour for it.

Through all the pros and cons of being an out-of-state student, one thing is for sure. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I've made tons of new friends from other states, traveled to different places, and am gaining the best education and job experience I could hope for.

So the next time you meet someone new, ask them where they're from, you might just get a cool story and gain a new friend from somewhere you've only driven through or maybe have never been to.