Since coming to Villanova, I've noticed a lot of things about where I'm from. I live in a small town right south of Boston, and am lucky enough to get to have easy access to such an awesome city. Villanova is made up of lots of kids from New Jersey and New York. There are lots of students from Massachusetts, but lots of them live so far west in Mass that I don't even consider them to be from Boston.

When I introduce myself to people and say "I'm from Boston," people often look at me and go "oh, BAH-ston", as if I don't know that sometimes people can pronounce the word differently. I also get a lot of people ask me if I say the word "wicked" a lot, which I actually don't.

Along with lots of questions about word pronunciations and Boston lingo, I get lots of cringes and groans when I say I'm from Boston. I didn't expect anything more than this, seeing as Villanova is right outside Philadelphia. People despise Boston sport's teams, and take every chance to tear them down. This confuses me a little bit because for some weird, crazy reason, we keep winning. But yeah, I guess you could say Boston sports teams are really bad.

While there are certainly a lot of negative reactions to Boston, I actually get a lot of good reactions, too. Lots of people tell me that they love Boston, and a few people have told me that they desperately want to visit the city. Since Philly is pretty similar to Boston (although obviously inferior), I don't feel like I have been put into a crazy new situation. I feel comfortable when I go into the city, and that provides a pretty good sense of reassurance for me.

In the end, leaving Boston has made me realize how much I appreciate it. I loved living so close to the ocean, and being able to drive to the water any time I wanted to. I love the architecture, and the positivity surrounding the community. I think that everyone should visit Boston at some point in their life because it really is an amazing city.