Growing up in suburban Connecticut, I never really had a strong attachment to the state that I was from. Sure, I loved my town and all, but I never was that into it. Now, my friends at school laugh at me for my deep love for the Nutmeg State and how much I talk about it. I honestly don't think I've been prouder than anything else in a long time. I'm proud because, for the first time, Connecticut is mine.
I was born and raised in Connecticut. My first great family memories were made in CT. I went to my first sleep-away camp in Connecticut. Everyone I had met was either from Connecticut or somewhere on the East Coast.I had never experienced anything else. Everyone was just like me. I wasn't the odd one out, I was just like everyone else.
Choosing to go to school approximately 700 miles away from home wasn't the easiest decision. I was scared to leave something that was so comfortable to me, but I knew that pushing myself outside my comfort zone would be the best thing for me in the long run. Here are a few things I've learned as a CT native in Oxford, Ohio.
- For the first time in my life, I was the odd one out. It seemed like everyone I met was from Ohio or Chicago, something I wasn't used to.
- Telling people where I was from, I was often met with responses like, “Connecticut, that's SO far!" or, "Is your town like Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls?"
- Meeting people from Connecticut was exciting! Those people just got it—they understood without having to have me describe it. They understood Stew Leonard's, Lake Compounce or Frank Pepe's Pizza. Those friends have become so close to me, because I don't have to explain. We can relate, understand and appreciate that state that we come from.
Once you are separated from something, your love and appreciation for it often grows. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I'm pretty fond of my home state.
