Birmingham-Southern College is a melting pot of various cities, states and countries. Most colleges have this variety, but I would venture to say that people at other schools tend to stick to people from close to their hometown in college (at least freshman year). I am referring to the girls who choose their roommates because they went to the same high school, and the boys who pledge a certain fraternity because all their friends from home pledged that one. This is where we differ. BSC is full of new people from new places. In one classroom, there could potentially be 10 different states out of the 15-20 students in the class. I’d predict that 60 percent of the time, freshmen have random roommates. And 40 percent of the time, they are from different states. I cannot stress enough how awesome that is to me. It is a dose of another culture that you must open your mind to in order to enjoy freshman year or at least enjoy your roommate.
It is true that an individual is the product of their surroundings. So, you know where YOU came from — the style, accent, customs, manners, ideas of fun, private or public school educated, etc. — and the other 1500 people who surround you have their own ways as well. At BSC, we are forced to get to know one another due to the many interactions that we WILL have on our small private campus. In these moments, we are creating an understanding and appreciation for the culture of other places in the state, country or even world.
I venture to say that having roommates/best friends from different states is the best thing that could have ever happened to me and could be the best thing to ever happen to you if you let it. It makes you realize that there is more to life than the secluded bubble you grew up in. I have also realized that MY way is not the ONLY way. In the summer, when you aren’t living together/hanging out all the time, you are realizing how different your culture at home is from the diverse one that you have created with your college friends. It is so true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Also, it gives you an opportunity to travel! When you travel to their hometowns and see all the things they have told you so much about, it makes their entire persona become one that you can truly understand. Not to mention, it gives you yet another connection in a different place.
I cannot tell you how many phrases I have begun to use from simply listening to my roommate talk; even my accent has changed and vice versa. The little quirky habits/ideas that once seemed foreign to me are now just part of our everyday interactions. As the years have gone by, we’ve identified the words that we pronounce differently, kinds of food we like for our meals, and the way we react to certain situations and traced it back to where we are from. Having roommates from around the country has been non-stop entertainment as we continue to compare the way we grew up. Even if it is as simple as where we went grocery shopping: I went Kroger or Publix, they went to Piggly Wiggly or King Soopers. Or, what we did when we’d play outside as a kid; for example, running out the cul-de-sac, hiking up steep terrain in the snow, going to the lake, or the woods in your back yard.
My advice to you is to take advantage of the diversity and find friends from different places and dive into their background. You might learn something about yourself and about the world around you!
