Maybe all you know about Long Island is from reading "The Great Gatsby" in your high school English class, but times have definitely changed. When someone asks me where I’m from, and I respond “Long Island,” a slew of ideas probably come to that person’s mind: beaches, the Hamptons, sleep away camp, Jewish American Princesses, bagels, Billy Joel, and strong accents to name a few. Coming to Vassar made me personally realize that there is a world outside of the mass of land that accidentally was produced by an enormous glacial movement. Being away from home for as little as four months has shifted my life in many ways from this to that. Here are nine examples that I’ve experienced thus far:
1. From pronouncing words in my Long Island accent, to actually saying them correctly.
My first week here I couldn’t count the amount of times someone said “OMG say dog, coffee, and water.” LIKE YES I AM FROM LONG ISLAND AND I HAVE (well, had) A STRONG ACCENT
2. From wearing UGGs, to L.L. Bean Boots.
I guess UGGs are a Long Island fad? I was so accustomed to getting UGGs every Hanukkah since I would genuinely wear them every day, but this year my parents were shocked to know that there was a change on my gift list.
3. From letting men hold a door for me, to opening the door myself.
Being at a liberal arts college, I should have known that Feminism would be prevalent. I didn’t realize the extent of it until my male friend and I were walking to lunch, and he opened the door for me as a woman behind us said, “Are you really going to let him do that?” Now I honestly just feel self conscious, so I stick to opening my own doors.
4. From making grammatical mistakes in colloquial conversation, to correcting myself…aloud.
My grammar has always been fine, but it wasn’t something I ever thought of when I was speaking aloud in a group of friends or classmates. Now, when I am speaking, whether it be answering a question in front of my whole class, or talking to a cute boy I will literally correct my pronouns aloud.
Example: Cute boy: “Hey, would you want to grab some dinner later?”
Me: “Yeah! Me and my friends are studying until six, but I’ll meet you there. I mean my friends and I. My friends and I are studying until six.”
Cute boy:* awkwardly smiles and walks away*
5. From bagels, pizza, and coffee, to tofu, vegan, and dairy free products.
Long Island is a playground of good bagels, pizza, and coffee. “It’s something about the water” people say…and they are 100% correct. Maybe I’m just a carb snob, but the pizza and bagels here shouldn’t even be allowed to be labeled at the dining hall as “pizza” and “bagels”. Not to mention the coffee, which I have to drink four cups of to get any sort of caffeine kick. Instead, I find myself dabbling in the tofu stir-fries and vegan options at the dining hall. I have absolutely no idea why. Maybe I’m just trying to be chic and in style with my dining options? Or I’m trying to find foods to fill the void of my bagel, pizza, and coffee deprivation.
6. From running on the boardwalk, to running on a farm
I am #blessed for being able to live near a beach for eighteen years of my life. I would run on the board walk all of the time. It was great because I didn’t want to look lazy compared to all of the other runners on the board walk in their decked out matching lulu lemon tracksuits, so I would be motivated to work out. Plus, I would have an excuse to send Snapchats of the beach so everyone knew that I was working out. Now, I run on a farm that’s down the street from my college’s campus. It’s lonely and sad, and no one wants to see a Snapchat of a depressing field of dirt.
7. From being strangers with my teachers in high school, to being BFFs with my professors in college.
Every time I address professors, I feel like I’m committing a sin by calling them by their first names. Not to mention grabbing coffee with them to discuss a book that we both found interest in. It was a complete 180 to come to college and realize that I’m no longer in high school where teachers come to teach because it is their job. In college, professors come to teach because it is their lives. Take caution though: once you get them started about a “recent article they’ve published”, they’ll never stop.
8. From being thirty minutes from New York City, to being two hours from New York City.
I know this one doesn’t seem so bad because it’s just one train ride away, but it’s much worse than people would think. More often than I had hoped, high school parties were often a flop, but going to the city was always just a back up plan. It was quick and easy, and we’d get there so quickly. Now, if I want to go to the city it must be planned out before…and who likes to plan? #spontaneoustravelsarethebesttravels
9. From talking about my summer camp, to shutting up about my summer camp.
On Long Island, everyone can connect with you when you tell stories about when you snuck out of your cabin to make out with a boy, or when you cried because you lost color war, but in college no one really cares. Every time I tell a camp story I feel like I’m on a path to word vomit about stuff that no one cares about, because they just don’t get it. I understand why they don’t find these stories compelling, but just like camp is so fun.
