Coming from a small college and a small hometown to Boulder, Colorado was a little bit of a culture shock. Can we just talk about what it's been like to be a small town girl in a bigger town?
This week, I want to recap what I learned in my first week at CU Boulder: as a graduate student, as a student in a new school, as a person in a new town, as a person in a new state, as a person in a new time zone. Let's do it.
1. PLACES DELIVER.
This was amazing for me. Places. Deliver. Food. To. Your. Door. Where I went to school (what up 828), there weren't any cool restaurants around that delivered. There wasn't even delivery pizza. Yeah. That was my life.
When I first got here, I ordered from GrubHub four days in a row. It was incredible. Expensive? A little. Worth it to feel like a princess for a day? Definitely.
2. YOU CAN BUY LIQUOR ON A SUNDAY?!
Oh yeah, I'm from the Bible Belt of America - you cannot go to a liquor store and buy liquor on a Sunday. Wanna be boozy on Sunday? You'd better stock up on Saturday.
Here? Places deliver liquor. You heard me. You can not only get it on a Sunday, but you can get it TO YOUR DOOR!
3. What's that smell...?
Weed is legal here. That's kind of amazing. Where I live (on campus) I still can't legally have it in my apartment. But that didn't stop me from going to a dispensary and just...looking around.
4. Man, it's hot in here.
So, I don't have air conditioning in my apartment. Everyone in my apartment complex just leaves their windows open. In The South, that is not normal.
I'm slowly adjusting to being slightly chilly in the morning and slightly warm mid-day. You just have to kind of get used to it and learn to layer, I suppose.
5. Why is everyone in my class married?
Okay, that's an exaggeration. Plenty of people in my department are single and/or younger. But, I'm going out on a limb here and saying that I'm the youngest person in my department. I could be wrong, but I have yet to meet that person if they are indeed younger than me.
This makes making friends a little intimidating. Graduate students often take a few years off from their undergrad; but there are a few girls that I've befriended that aren't 30. So that's cool.
6. Um, wow.
A lot of the people here are a lot like me. They kind of are interested in the same things (health, veganism, etc.) and a lot of the people here are...fit. Like, wow. Just...hi.
I'm just saying, going to bars and coffee shops here is a little weird. I kind of feel like I'm at a party at the popular kid's house and all of their hot friends showed up. I mean, wow.
7. I AM LOST.
I'm way too proud to ever admit that I've done something incorrectly. That being said, I've gotten lost like once a day. I can tell you that because we're friends. I haven't gotten lost so much on campus, but definitely driving/walking around town.
8. So many books...
My teachers have loaded me up with so much homework that I'm having to take breaks from it to eat, shower, and sleep. Seriously. So much reading. I really should get back to that.
Moral to the story is, I will always love The South but this is my new home. If you liked this article, give it a share and leave me a comment. Go Buffs, y'all!!
