I can still remember driving away from Lubbock after my first visit to Texas Tech’s campus. I had visited University of Texas and Texas A&M the week before — checking out all three major Texas universities was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Both UT and A&M had impressive qualities which made me that much more anxious about the decision I eventually had to make.

On my drive out of Lubbock, however, I knew I had made my choice. Maybe it was the wide open spaces I knew I could never get enough of, or maybe it was the small-town hospitality feel every person I met seemed to have. It could have had, on some level, something to do with the fact that (the gorgeous) Kliff Kingsbury would be arriving that same fall semester to start his reign as head football coach, but I like to think my decision stemmed from something deeper than that.

Now, almost three years later, I can confidently say that Lubbock has ruined me.

You know that ex you have that everyone else you ever date will have to live up to? They were just so great, fun and kind, and even through the break-up you couldn’t bring yourself to say a bad word against them. Everyone you date from this point on will just have to accept that you were never the same after that person and you’ll never be able to completely get over them. Well, Lubbock is that ex.

As someone who is facing the possibility of leaving Lubbock, even though for a short time, I’m positive that no city will ever feel like home the way this cotton-centered town has. Here are a few ways Lubbock has totally ruined you, too:

1. The sky. Oh my God, the sky. You’ll never be anywhere else where the skies are so blue, so open and so clear.
2. Stressed out? Pick a direction and within 10 minutes you’ll be tearing down a back road, stark white cotton on every side of you. Nothing says "stress relief" like an afternoon back road excursion.
3. “Running late” never applies, considering you can get anywhere in Lubbock within five minutes.
4. Forget a confusing mess of highways — everything is “off the loop,” literally.
5. Broadway. You’ll run into everyone and anyone on Broadway on any given night of the week, because there’s no such thing as a “school night” in a college town.
6. All four seasons make an appearance in Lubbock, each one more beautiful than the last.
7. The Red Raider family is one of the biggest support systems you’ll ever find. In this town, we look out for each other no matter what.
8. The city is literally a grid — can you say effortless navigation?
9. There is absolutely nothing like opening your windows on a cool fall day and feeling a calm (yes, calm happens sometimes) Lubbock breeze blow through your house.
10. The memories you make in this town are unparalleled.

As long as you know that you’ll probably never have as good of a time as you did while you were living here, you might be able to lead a normal life elsewhere.

Keyword is “might,” because like I said: ruined.