Anyone who lives in or near Virginia knows that the rivalry between Virginia Tech and UVA is so real.

Up until about 6 months ago, I was a die-hard Hokie (Tech fan, for you non-Virginians). My mom was Tech '92, so I grew up going to every Alumni event, doing the Hokey Pokey at football games, and feeling genuinely at home in Blacksburg, Virginia. Not to mention, I never missed an opportunity to rant about how Wahoos (UVA students) were pretentious rich kids, snobs, and most of all, arrogant. Never did I ever think that this is where I would end up.

Until January of my Senior year of high school, I had no idea where I wanted to go to college. All I knew (or thought I knew) was that I wanted to go out of state - ha! - and that I would not be attending the University of Virginia. Growing up in a small Virginia town my whole life, I thought that I had had enough of this state, thought that all of Virginia was like my town; I wanted to spread my wings and see what else was out there.

The first time I came to UVA was Junior year with my two best friends. One of their moms had offered to take us to a football game, and who was I to turn down some quality girl time? I could stomach UVA for a couple hours.

The day of the game came and we made the drive down to Charlottesville, VA. Walking into Scott Stadium for the first time, I learned about two UVA football traditions:

1) Wine and Cheese

Apparently, Wahoos tailgate with wine and cheese, not beers and burgers.

2) Girls in Pearls, Guys in Ties

Pretty self-explanatory: according to tradition, UVA girls wear pearls and guys wear ties... to football games.

The wine and cheese part, while weird, wasn't that bad. However, pearls and ties at a football game?! You've got to be kidding me. I was on rowdiness being the norm at football games, so it was definitely cringe-worthy to junior-year-me.

That day, UVA football got absolutely slaughtered by Miami and I had no problem with it. I annoyingly routed against the home team the entire game; after all, they were Tech's rival, and I was a Hokie-since-birth!

I left that game with the same attitude towards UVA as I went into it with: bleh.

Fast forward to January of my Senior year. I had applied to UVA purely because my mom and some others suggested it, "just in case I changed my mind." Yeah, right. Anyway, I was just as lost, anxious, and confused as ever about where my next four years would be when my mom suggested we visit UVA.

At this point, I was willing to try anything, so I agreed. Plus, it was an excused absence from school, so why not?

As soon as we arrived on Grounds, I knew I was in trouble. I don't know whether it was seeing the hustle and bustle of students during the school day, or the immense beauty of UVA even on a rainy day, but something had me hooked immediately. As we went along our guided tour, I fell more and more in love with everything about the University; from the Rotunda to the Corner, Scott Stadium to the Lawn, I felt as if it was drawing me in.

So, the rest is history! I write this post as I lay in bed in my dorm room at UVA, ever-so-grateful to be here. I actually had a nightmare the other night that there was a mix-up and I ended up at a different school, and let me tell you; it was awful. Since my arrival, I've learned that stereotypes are just that; believe it or not, not everyone here is a pretentious, arrogant rich kid! Who would've thought?!

My Hokie mom has coped with the situation pretty well, which makes sense; she's the one who made it happen in the first place because even she knew that UVA is where I would thrive the most. As for the rest of my family, they're happy to finally have a college basketball team to cheer for (we're going to pretend that 2018 March Madness didn't happen).

Though Hokies and Hoos always have been and always will be rivals, Tech will always hold a special place in my heart (and on my finger... I wear my mom's Tech class ring almost every day at UVA).

The moral of the story is this, kids:

Keep an open mind, no matter what.

I never thought I would end up here, but now there's no place I'd rather be.