Growing up in Starkville, I was always told that it would be a complete change of scenery whenever I got to college and went to Mississippi State. Whenever I would hear this, I would simply roll my eyes and just sigh because it always seemed so far away. What I have come to realize, within a year or so of being in college, was that they were all right. It is like I have moved to a completely different town. Here are a few things that I have figured out as a college student in Starkville, but also being from Starkville.
No one is really watching you at all, and you get to make your own rules in a sense.
Last year, it was incredibly liberating to be able to go and do things with my friends whenever I wanted without having to text my parents first and ask if it was okay. There were so many late-night Sonic runs, or just simple windows down, music blaring drives with all my friends. It is one of the best feelings in the world to be able to finally feel like a little bit of an adult.
You get to act like you know every single thing about Starkville, even if you don't, just because your out-of-town friends have no idea where they are.
One of my favorite parts about the beginning of college would be whenever my friends and I would be in the car, and they would have no idea where they were going. I would proudly get to tell them the directions and act like I was the mayor or something. I still get to do it sometimes, but it was definitely way more fun in the beginning.
You still get a sense of feeling at home, but you're not so far that you can get homesick.
The best thing about being from Starkville would be the fact that moving in and out of places was the easiest thing. This past year moving into the dorm, I did not bring any hanging up clothes for at least three weeks. It was tempting to bring them, but they are so heavy and so much work. I eventually made the effort after I was sick and tired of borrowing clothes from everyone, but it was still a while later.
There are many more I could think of, I am sure, but these are the ones that have stuck out to me the most. Being from Starkville definitely has its perks, even if it may not seem like it.
