Growing up, my family and I lived in the D.C.-Maryland area. I grew up going on field trips to the White House, the monuments and the National Gallery. I was firmly convinced, like all natives to the area, that Maryland was the only place I could possibly live and thrive. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to live anywhere else. After one particular visit to my grandmother, who lives in the heart of Northeast Jackson, I concluded that I could never, ever live in the South. Two months later, my parents announced that we were moving to the South. Obviously, I had to change my attitude.
Moving to Northeast Jackson proved to be one huge shock to my system. Jackson was smaller, friendlier and about 30 degrees warmer than what I was used to. I had instantly gone from a place that was busy, diverse, and overflowing with historical sights to the land of friendly people, giant soda cups and no snow. It was such a shock to be out of the east coast that it took me several years to process the change. After completing my freshman year at MC, I realized that the feeling of being totally and completely overwhelmed had a name: culture shock. Jackson had no metro, no insane 5 p.m. traffic and definitely no snow days. As big of a change as moving was, I eventually came to terms with the fact that Jackson was my new home, and it would be for the next couple of years. Obviously, I had to get used to living in the South if I was going to survive and thrive in Mississippi. So I invested in some tank tops and Nike shorts, grew accustomed to drinking sweet tea, and bought a lot of sunscreen.
Now, don't get me wrong, the South is an amazing place to live! It just took me a while (several years, in fact) to get used to living here. From the minute we moved into our home, our house was overflowing with different relatives and lots of food from our lovely neighbors. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming. There are lots of perks to living in the South. Believe it or not, the sushi is actually better in Mississippi than in D.C. I don't often find myself in standstill traffic for hours on end, nor do I spend hours driving to friends' houses. The cost of living is much better (according to my parents), and spontaneous beach trips are possible!
Though moving from the East Coast to Jackson was overwhelming, to say the least, I'm glad I did it. I made lots of amazing friends and found an awesome college. I do occasionally go back to D.C., and when I do, I am overwhelmed by how different it is. I may never fully get used to how tight-knit the south is, or how ridiculously hot it gets in the summer, but the pros outweigh the cons. Perhaps the best part of this experience is that now I have two amazing hometowns: D.C. and Jackson.
