West Virginia University is home to about 30,000 students. Taking a tour of the university as a prospective student, you get hit with a lot of impressive statistics and lists of accreditations. There's 193 degree programs spread out over 15 colleges. There is a lot about WVU that makes it outstanding academically and that's what brings students to Morgantown. What keeps them there is the magic of Morgantown. West Virginia University creates an environment that makes your four (or more) years in Morgantown unforgettable and incomparable to the time you'll spend any where else. After attending WVU, and now spending a little time away, this is what I miss most about my home.
1. Welcome weekend.
The first weekend you spend at WVU after a summer apart is indescribable. Warm weather, cold beer and parties on lawns make for an intoxicating first few days back on campus. It's just before the work piles on and everyone's got a little lining in their wallet from that summer job. The high expectations for the coming year linger in the backs of minds as you find your way to the same familiar places with old friends to meet some new people.
2. The walk across Woodburn circle.
There's something beautiful about walking from the Mountainlair, across the free-speech zone and diagonally across Woodburn circle. The smell of fresh cut grass in the spring or the way it lights up at night after a snow fall will be engrained into your memory long after your walks across campus have ceased.
3. Old Gold and True Blue tailgates.
Trying to explain Division 1 football tailgating to someone who doesn't know it is difficult enough, but trying to explain Mountaineer tailgates is just damn impossible. I will never forget the first time I stood up on the Law Hill and looked down at the sea of trucks, grills, and blue and gold tents. The students are spirited but Mountaineers get better with age. The Alumni come in droves every football season for a reminder of their undergrad years and to impart the Mountaineer lifestyle and spirit onto their children- who will be in the student section themselves one day.
4. The LSB stairs.
That's a joke. I will never miss those.
5. The fine cuisine of Morgantown.
Alright, so maybe fine isn't the right word, but the various restaurants of Morgantown will always have what you need when you need it. Whether it's a Tailpipes milkshake on a hot day, Pizza Al's when you have friends over for a game, Great Wall after a rough week, or DP Dough when it's 2 am and you'll eat just about anything. Other cities don't deliver fried mac n cheese bites after midnight and I miss that about WVU's food industry.
6. The way we celebrate holidays.
Mountaineers won't settle on a single day, no, we celebrate for a whole week or month. Halloween? Try Hallo-two-weeks. St. Patrick's Day? I think you mean March. And Christmas parties begin promptly after the Halloween celebrations halt.
7. The familiar places.
When you move to a larger city, you start to appreciate how familiar Morgantown was to everyone that lived there. Everyone knows High st., Walnut, University Ave., Beechurst, and then the areas of South Park, Medical, and UTC. It takes very little effort to explain to someone where you are or where to meet you because there's really only so many places you could be.
8. Snow days.
Morgantown becomes a playground for 20 somethings overnight with the snowfall. WVU becomes a site for winter sporting events and outdoor day drinking (despite it being cold enough for snow). The city has a special vibe to it when half of its inhabitants are given a day off and nothing to do and nowhere to be.
9. The Mountaineers.
WVU has an uncanny ability to take people from all over the country and all walks of life and turn them into family. WVU boasts a 49% instate to 51% out of state ratio. People come to West Virginia for the university and soon begin calling it home. There's something special about the people you meet in Morgantown. Mountaineers have a sense of humor and a light-hearted spirit. They are caring and friendly... until they see a Pitt fan. There's just something about WVU students, current and alumni, that make them just a little different than the rest of the population. Maybe it's because we all have similar memories from our years on campus that we'll always cherish.
10. Country Roads.
Just about everyone in the world has heard John Denver's voice sing those words Country Roads take me home to the place I belong. But those words have a different meaning to Mountaineers. I miss putting my arms around friends and strangers and swaying while singing those words we all know and love. Mountaineers know what those country roads look like and depending on which highway you come in on, we all have that landmark that tells us we're home. For me it's seeing the Colosseum nestled in the hills ahead. I'm almost home.
