Growing up, you kind of think that where you’ve been raised is the center of the universe...and to a certain extent it is, right? There are a bunch of quirks that go into your community and you hold these norms with you wherever you go. Eventually -- and this eventually will come quicker than you can even imagine -- you’ll go to college and take these quirks and traditions with you, just like everyone else. Many people can attest to the fact that going to school upstate is very interesting to say the least. There are so many things that separate upstate New York from the rest of the world, and here are 15 signature signs that people who go to college upstate can easily relate to.
1. The Sheet Pizza.
Sheet Pizza can be considered a signature dish of upstate New York. Before coming to college here, I’d never experienced anything like it before. It was just something I had to accept and let happen, but I have to admit having some slices of pizza with no crust is a little trippy.
2. When people say ELEMEN-TARY and DOCUMEN-TARY instead of ELEMEN-TREE and DOCUMEN-TREE.
This one always gets me. Everyone who is from upstate always pronounces words that end in –TARY as it is actually spelled.
3. The fall is absolutely beautiful.
The foliage in the mountains and around the lakes is simply breathtaking.
4. The freezing temperatures and Lake Effect.
This right here is a horrible duo; the cold temperatures combined with the lake effect and absurd amounts of snow get ridiculous very quickly.
5. Everyone is really nice.
Upstate, everyone is always smiling and saying hi, which I fully believe isn’t a normal occurrence most places, unless you go down south.
6. No direct route to get to highways.
In order to get anywhere, you have to take these sketchy country back roads in order to get to any major highway.
7. Abundance of wineries.
There’s literally a winery on every single corner, so take your pick.
8. Everyone thinks you're in Canada.
I guess we’re kind of close, right?
9. The sun doesn't come out from October until April.
This is just a depressing time for all.
10. When it's 40 degrees out and people bust out their summer clothes.
People are so traumatized by the cold that when it gets somewhat warm, they think it’s the middle of the summer. With that mentality, they bust out shorts, tank tops, and other summer clothes.
11. Lots of cool nature activities.
There are always cool places to go hiking, swimming, and just be immersed in the beauty of upstate New York.
12. When you tell people you go to school in New York, the follow-up question is always: "How close is it to the city?"
No, my school is actually like five hours away and in the middle of nowhere.
13. Wegman's.
AKA the best place ever.
14. You never get a snow day.
The snow could be up to your elbows and there’s about a zero percent chance that you will be granted a snow day.
15. All of the seasons are so distinct and beautiful that even Instagram posts don't do them justice.
The awesome thing about going to school upstate is that you get to truly experience all of the different seasons. Each of them is so beautiful yet so different that they never get old. This is cool because you have endless amounts of opportunities for artsy Instagram posts even though they probably won’t do the actual visual any justice.
