“I’m from Memphis, Tennessee.”
“Oh cool. I’ve never met someone from Tennessee before.”
I have had this conversation more times than I can remember, and I get the same response every time.
When I decided to attend the University of Michigan, I knew it would be a huge change to go somewhere 729.9 miles away, 40 degrees colder during the winter, and a place where I could count the number of people I knew who attended the university on one hand.
I was ready for something new, and I was excited to experience the world outside of the south.
For the first few days of school during my first semester, it seemed like even though Michigan was such a big school, that everyone knew each other. It felt as though every person I met somehow knew each other from camp, home, or through some other connection.
I thought people would think I was weird because I was from the south, but I mostly thought this because I came from somewhere different than everyone else.
Although I was intimidated at first, it didn’t take long for me to realize that people were excited to meet someone from the south, and no one thought I was weird. Contrary to my belief, people were excited and amazed to meet someone from Tennessee — all they knew about Tennessee was that Vanderbilt was located somewhere in the state.
In fact, going away to college and being around people who grew up with backgrounds so different than mine has taught me to love my hometown even more.
The amount of times I have told people that Friday Night Lights is a real thing not just something on a TV show, that southern hospitality is real and no matter where you go in the south everyone makes you feel like you are at home, that "y’all" is a common word in my everyday language was annoying at first. I even had to explain that I did not live on a farm nor ride my bike to school.
However, people weren’t asking me these questions to be annoying — they simply didn't know. The more I talk about my hometown, the more I realize how lucky I was to grow up in a city like Memphis where the community was so tight-knit and close and where I could go almost anywhere and run into a familiar face.
No, I did not grow up in New York, like it seems many people at my school did. I didn't come to college knowing more than a handful of people. That did not stop me from meeting some of my best friends and having an amazing first semester.
Even though I came from a different background than most people at the University of Michigan, I love to learn about other people’s backgrounds, and most of all, I have loved teaching people about Memphis, Tennessee — the place that I have called home for the past 18 years.
I was nervous at first, but I have never been so certain that my decision to attend the University of Michigan was the right one and I can’t wait for my remaining three and a half years.
For all of you high school seniors: don’t be scared to attend a school because you fear you don’t know anyone or you fear that you are from different places than everyone else. I can promise that, just like me, you will be happy and meet some of your best friends, even if they do come from different places than you.
Just don’t forget that when they tell you it gets cold, it does get cold — really cold.
