I know what you’re thinking, isn’t everyone from the state of New York considered a New Yorker? No! The term "New Yorker" is reserved for inhabitants of Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and (sometimes) Staten Island. New Yorkers, are loud talking, fast walking, money spending machines. Here’s a list of ways you can spot one of these rare creatures.

1.*boom* “Hello” *crash* “Yeah” *screech* “What ?”

In NYC, the sound of cars colliding and train brakes screeching is pretty common. If a person in NYC wants to be heard, they have to compete with those sounds every single day. To put it simply, we speak a lot louder than we’re supposed to because we think we’re still competing with the obnoxious sounds of the city. In a study done by Newsday it was found that the Subway is practically making us (the sad individuals who must spend much of their time underground, like mole people) go deaf. When we answer questions in class, we’re probably speaking louder than the professor. If we’re on the phone, I’m pretty sure you can hear the entire conversation and you’re also pretty concerned about Jenny’s baby daddy.

2. Run, Forrest, Run

So, you’re walking to class and you hear the thud of boots against the concrete. It is late August, so you’re kind of confused about the boots. You look back and you see a person practically running behind you. You’re shocked, maybe a little confused, and probably pretty scared. You think, “maybe I should run, too ?” or “why is this work boot wearing individual charging at me?” The work boot wearing individual is just a New Yorker trying to get to class. In the city, we’re always in a rush. Whether we’re walking through Union Square to get to Barnes and Noble's or walking down the stairs of the subway station trying to get to work on time, we’re always moving pretty fast. Unlike upstate people (what do you call people from other parts of New York state, again?), New Yorkers never actually stroll. Our strolling pace is somewhere between 3.4-5 miles per hour.

3. FASTER

You’ve probably heard of the New York minute and I am here to tell you that that is an 100% real and authentic thing. In NYC things happen in a flash. If we order a coffee, we expect it to be in our hands in 1 minute or less. If it snows we expect it to be pretty much all gone in less than 24 hours. New Yorkers are so used to things happening at an unbelievable pace that when we leave the city, we’re pretty surprised by how slow things are in the real world. Because of our lack of understanding of real time, we’re also pretty impatient creatures.

4. Passion for fashion

New York City is the fashion capital of the world and we definitely bring that sense of style to college with us. New Yorkers are known for their obsession with black fabrics, timberland boots (no matter what season it is), flashy jewelry, and overall expensive threads. It’s just how we’re raised. In a sea of upstate New Yorkers wearing sweatshirts and shorts to class, we stand out quite a bit.

5.YERR

You’ve probably heard a “yerr” or two while on a SUNY campus. No, that is not the sound of a rare species of bird trying to attract a mate, it is the sound of New Yorkers greeting each other. New Yorkers have our own slang, the same way (I am assuming) other groups of people have their own vernacular terms. New York City slang is pretty confusing if you aren’t from the city.

6. The City Paranoia

You’ve probably heard of some of the things on this list, but I am pretty sure you’ve never heard of the city paranoia. New Yorkers are so used to having to try to keep everything they own safe on the subway that we just don’t trust anyone. It’s not that we don’t trust anyone, it’s just that no one can be trusted. We always double check our locks. We always look behind us when we walk. We constantly ask questions. We’re pretty much small time investigators wherever we are.

7. Is that the sun?

This actually happened to me about a week ago. I was sitting by the lake watching the small waves crash against the rocks, when I saw something. A huge yellow, orange, and slightly red ball of light just sitting above the water. My immediate thoughts ? Wow, the moon looks pretty weird right now. Obviously, it was not the moon sitting over the lake at 6 p.m. The truth is, New Yorkers don’t get to see nature the way others do. Because of the light pollution, the smoke, the smog and all of the other crap in the air, our sun looks pretty different in the city. In the city, we just see the yellow rays poking through our polluted air above our dying artificial trees (how do you kill a plant that does not need water). New Yorkers at SUNY schools can be spotted pretty easily, because we’re pretty amazed by areas of vegetation larger than central park.

There it is, your concise checklist to keep in your back pocket whenever you’re on a SUNY campus and think you might be encountering a New Yorker.

Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker.