Whether I knew it at the time or not, I was pretty much raised to someday attend Texas A&M. I was watching football games in Kyle Field before I learned to walk. But until halfway through my senior year when I took a campus tour of the university, I realized I had never really been to Texas A&M, and it was right there on Military Walk that I decided that this was the place I was going to attend college.

I saw a lot of TAMU for the first time that day, but what I didn’t know then was I had only scratched the surface of all the good and yes, even sometimes the bad, that this place had to offer. I know right now it is decision-making time for many high school seniors, so I'm here to let you in on just a few of the important parts of Texas A&M that the Visitor’s Center oh-so-conveniently forgets to mention.

Blocker building.

“A Soviet hellscape”, “A 1980's Floridian mall”, and “The farther up you go, the more it looks like a creepy mental hospital”.

These are just a few of the ways I’ve heard this lovely building described. A true gem of Texas A&M University.

Parking?

You show up for your tour, you cruise right into the University Garage, and you probably don’t think twice about it. This is what they want you to believe. The reality is this: driving in circles hopelessly through a parking lot more overwhelming than the Chick-fil-a drive-thru at 10:30 a.m.

The haunted nuclear engineering building!

You can find a full rundown of this harrowing tale here, but the gist of it is this: it’s allegedly haunted. Ready to register for classes now?

Construction...everywhere.

This is one that your standard campus tour oh-so-strategically avoids - but don’t be fooled! It’s pretty much impossible to go anywhere on campus without seeing at least an orange traffic cone or two. How’s that for your Instagram aesthetic?

The East Quad.

Where? This little-known gem on the main campus is arguably prettier than Academic Plaza. Situated steps from the Liberal Arts and Architecture building, come here to experience the closest thing we have to Austin, and to see man-buns in their natural habitat!!

Einstein’s!

Bagels. Need I say more?

The Grill.

Forget Rev’s. This is hands down the best burger on campus.

The water fountain in front of the chemistry building.

Another underrated part of campus so tragically not included on a campus tour, this fountain is cleverly located across from the Chemistry building. With its close proximity to not only chemistry but also many engineering buildings, this is a great place to sit for those who may be going for that "MRS degree".

The Heldenfels stairs.

Rumor has it these bad boys aren’t even up to code anymore. I’ve never had the pleasure of attempting to climb the lesser known Mt. Everest, and I hope you don’t ever have to either.

Places other than Evans library to study.

Oh, I’m not actually going to tell you what those places are, that’s up for you to find out.

But, there is one thing that the Visitor’s Center does manage to get right: The people.

Even though I don’t necessarily say howdy to every single person I meet like the elementary school students who scream it at the top of their lungs walking through the MSC, I can’t go a day without seeing someone I know, or even just smiling at a stranger. It’s cliché and I know every school is trying to tell you why their school and their people are special, but there truly is something a little magical about Aggieland and the people lucky enough to call it home. Everyone feels it and everyone radiates it.

Yes, we have our quirks and our imperfections, but who doesn’t? So there you have it, the tour you won’t get from the Visitor Center, also known as the things that made me fall in love with Texas A&M University.