"Wait, you're not from Florida?" I get asked this question every single time I tell people I am from New Jersey. When I was a senior in High School, All my friends thought I was so lucky to be attending UCF in the fall. Sunny weather, zero snow, open pools, and shorts year round. Yeah, sounds pretty ideal to a northerner who freezes in the cold for 6 months out of the year. I get it, If I lived in Florida, I would not go out of state for school. I mean why would you want to leave this amazing state. I have seen the instagram captions, "I live where you vacation." It is so true! I mean I only flew down to South Florida 11 times during my senior year because I needed to escape the dead grass and dreary skies. Florida kids may not have the great bagels and amazing pizza but the 80 degree weather is something I was willing to give that up for.

I remember coming down to UCF for Summer B my freshman year. Prior to coming, I would always scroll down the UCF 2018 group searching for northerners to be-friend. I searched for kids with mutual friends or NY/NJ in their bio. Can you blame me? I did not know a single person attending UCF in the fall so it was only natural to find anyone familiar. Everyone I met was from Florida. Not one single person told me they were out of State. The only towns I knew of in Florida were Boca and West Palm so I always asked people if they were from those areas. I got answers like "Naples" and "Plantation" which made me think these kids grew up in some barren Florida Farm. I soon learned that In-state tuition for Florida Students was more than affordable and it all made sense.

Whenever I told people I was from New Jersey I got one of two responses. "Are you from the shore??" and "You must be Italian." Well unfortunately I had to responded with "I am actually a Russian Jew who lives 30 minutes outside of New York City but those stereotypes were spot on!" I got some laughs and some "How did you end up here?" Is it that surprising that a girl from New Jersey would want to study in paradise? I didn't think so.

The best advice I can give to fellow Out of Staters is to join a sorority. You don't want to pay for your friends? You're already paying out of state tuition, might as well go the extra mile. There is no better way to find people similar to you unless you go out searching. Rush is hot and long (Especially during August in Florida) but it is worth it once you run home, even if it's not New Jersey. You might find girls from Boca and Miami who for the most part are almost as obnoxious and outgoing as us northerners. For me, those are the girls I call my best friends. For those of you trying to get away from those personalities, I hear that opposites attract. Remember Florida is still the south! People I've met from Jacksonville definitely are some of the nicest people around UCF even if they are a little quieter than what we are used to.

So Don't worry Northerners, there is indeed a place for you here at the University of Central Florida. You'll be sure to stand out in a crowd and will not fail to attract attention. Take being an Out of Stater as a positive thing. For one thing "I don't live in Florida," is the best conversation starter!