I was 17 when my parents told me that as long as I was accepted into the college I applied for, I could go. When I was 18 I moved my entire life down the East Coast, taking the biggest gamble I had yet to make in my life, to Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Now, as a senior at Winthrop University, most of the intense cultural shocks that hit me when I first moved down here three and a half years ago have begun to dull. Every once in awhile someone will do something to throw me through a loop, but if you’re like me and want to move to a completely opposite corner of the country than you are from, here are some things to be prepared for:
1.Guns apparently ARE that important
To this day, I have never shot a gun. Sure, I shot a bow and arrow when I took archery at sleepaway camp in the middle of New Hampshire, but never did I think people other than those in the military or police officers that would casually need to shoot a gun. If you live in the woods and enjoy hunting, that would be the only time you would need to own a rifle.
What to this day confuses me is why a regular average Joe needs to have a shot gun or a concealed weapon if they are not an officer of the law. We aren’t in the Wild West. It is 2017. And while that may be just a number for some, it really is supposed to mean that we’ve evolved past primal instincts and that we follow a Constitution that doesn’t allow you to play God with people’s lives and choose if you would like to take their life or send them to trial.
All I have to say is: guns don’t shoot people, people shoot people. So maybe we should be more careful with who we give the guns to.
2.Alcohol is sold in the same place you can buy children’s toys
In my home town and the surrounding suburban towns of the Greater Boston area one can find multiple Wine & Spirits stores dispersed around the town. What you cannot find? Any type of alcohol outside of specific certified alcohol stores.
Yes, I’m telling you the truth: In Massachusetts, you cannot purchase alcohol of any type anywhere other than an alcohol store. So you can’t grab a six-pack at the gas station or a bottle of wine at Walmart, you have to go to a specific place that only sells alcohol. And no, you cannot buy some beer the aisle over from the toy section in Walgreens either.
The only store retailer (to my knowledge) with a special license to sell alcohol within the state of Massachusetts would be Costco, specifically the one 15 minutes from my house in Waltham, MA.
Honestly I’m not complaining though, very convenient for college students. Not so sure about the economy or combating underage drinking issues though…
3.School actually gets cancelled for snow
Probably the greatest plus side to living below the Mason Dixon line is that snow days are a real thing, and better yet, sometimes teachers will cancel class because they THINK it could snow(a.k.a. They also want a snow day).
I attended public school in Lexington, Massachusetts, and the saying went, ‘if the sidewalks were plowed, there was school.’ So it’s not a surprise that many teachers in public school systems in the area own detachable snow plows for their cars and doubled as snow plowers for the towns.
When people ask me why I’ve moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina, they almost laugh when I saw 60 percent of my reasoning was simply to get away from the snow. But be honest, wouldn’t you try to head closer to the equator if you still had to attend school when there was 18 inches of snow on the ground? Snow is pretty until you can tell where your neighbors dogs have peed all over your lawn.
Slightly ironic that I was born in February, isn’t it?
4. Expect to drive everywhere
South Carolina is big. And when I say big, I mean Massachusetts is one-third the size of South Carolina. Even though the area is so spacious there is not much public transportation. One of the many factors in the lack of public buses is that the gas is much cheaper than in the North.
There was a time when Rock Hill, South Carolina had the cheapest gas in the country. With that incentive, there is not much of a need for buses or subways when people prefer to drive.
5. You wouldn’t believe it, but we celebrate different holidays
I get it, my college is a state college, which means that taxpayers of the state of South Carolina help pay for Winthrop to be up and running. The trade off is that we follow state mandated curriculum and schedules. What does that mean you ask? You only get holidays off from school that your town deems appropriate based off of its population. *
*I would like to take the time to point out that I am not an elected town official so I do not understand the exact process that goes into deciding which holidays are observed with no school. I am only guessing the system is along these lines because where I come from, we get off holidays such as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
I recall just last week I was on the phone with my mom and after telling her about my day the only question she had was, “why did they make you have school on Columbus Day?”
Patriot’s Day is also a holiday that is apparently only celebrated in Massachusetts. And some people may celebrate it, but they call it a different name. The out of state students from California at Boston University used to tell my older sister they called it “Marathon Monday”.
So let me be clear: We do not get off school in Boston because of the Boston Marathon (though it would be inconvenient trying to go to work or class that day). We get school off in honor of Patriot’s Day, and the marathon is also held in honor of the holiday.
6. I’m not the one with the accent, you are
If you asked me if I considered myself to have a Boston accent, I would say no. I would however say that my dad, aunts and grandmother all have wicked accents, but I not so much.
Over the years people have stopped asking me to pronounce different phrases for them. Mostly because I will continue to argue with them about the pronunciations, insisting mine is correct.
If you ever need a test to gauge where someone is from, ask them to pronounce “Appalachian Mountains.” If you from the top of the east coast, chances are you say “appa-laysh-an.” If you’re from the South, it may sound like “appa-latch-an.”
If I ever make it to the west coast, I’ll continue my experiment to find the true pronunciation of the mountain range.
7.Define: Grits
I’m still not exactly sure what they are, I guess the best descriptor would be “corn oatmeal.” Or maybe really hard and crunchy cream of wheat. I’ve tried them on numerous occasions with ketchup, cheese, butter, pepper, maple syrup… But every time I fail to vibe with them. It’s not that I dislike them, I would just choose to eat probably anything else before them.
I have a gypsy soul. When the opportunity to travel came knocking, I was ready to jump on the first plane out of New England. Choosing where I would attend college and where I would begin the next major phase of my life was the first ‘adulty’ thing I got to do.
Over my time away from home I have grown and expanded my views and opinions by seeing the world from a different perspective. College alone will teach you how to become independent and resourceful, but if you’re like me, taking an even bigger step outside of your comfort zone will benefit you infinitely.