N: Did you have a particular moment when you realized how “costal” Emory is?
M; During our first floor meeting it was ridiculous everybody was either from California or Long Island with a few Florida people.
N: For me it was when all the guys ordered pizza on the first night and I was the only person not from LA or a large city on the East Coast.
M: I couldn’t find a single person besides you from the Midwest for a week or two. We are so few and far between and we have so much pride because of this.
This is so true. I barely had any Midwest pride before I came here, but since I left I have become proud of where I came from.
N: How do you describe Emory being very different from the Midwest.
M: People strive to be Midwestern by being welcoming but end up being pretty self-involved and that is just so anti-Midwest. Having a casual conversation only to talk about you is unheard of in the Midwest where you ask a question because you genuinely care about what the other person is saying.
N Back home people like don’t want to hear you talk about yourself.
M: You are actually engaged in a conversation compared to just looking around to see who else is there.
N: Is there anything you felt like you had to change coming here, like clothing, the way you act, or anything else in particular?
M: Back home I would eat much earlier. There would be a set time when people in my neighborhood are probably eating or barbequing and it’s a lot earlier and people here on weekends at least go to dinner at like 9 o’clock and that’s a few hours later than I would eat dinner at home. Also a lot of people dress up here compared to Ohio at least. Back home everybody would go out in a shorts and a T-shirt and its fine, but here its like nice jeans, hair done, makeup done, accessories on accessories and your like have to be wearing a purse and I’m not used to that at all. So wearing a purse is a big deal for me.
N: Its been very similar for me. I would wear cargo shorts and T-shirts all the time and a don’t wear either of them here, especially the cargo shorts.
M: I barely Open my t-shirt drawer here other than to put it under a sweater. That was my main staple in my fashion back home and here its not really accepted at all. I only wear athletic shorts in the dorm and to work out, but before I would wear them whenever I thought I might do an activity outside.
N: Do you like dressing up more or is it kind of a hassle?
M: I feel like I do a lot more laundry because I didn’t bring a lot of my nicer clothes. I thought it was college so nobody cares anyways, but people care here. I’ve gotten used to it but I have to get up 30 minutes before I would have to back home just to get ready. Back home it was no makeup, no earrings, wearing athletic shorts to class and not that people would judge you, its just here it is not normal not to wear makeup or try to look nice. Some people here get dressed up for every little thing even if it is just going to the DUC.
M; During our first floor meeting it was ridiculous everybody was either from California or Long Island with a few Florida people.
N: For me it was when all the guys ordered pizza on the first night and I was the only person not from LA or a large city on the East Coast.
M: I couldn’t find a single person besides you from the Midwest for a week or two. We are so few and far between and we have so much pride because of this.
This is so true. I barely had any Midwest pride before I came here, but since I left I have become proud of where I came from.
N: How do you describe Emory being very different from the Midwest.
M: People strive to be Midwestern by being welcoming but end up being pretty self-involved and that is just so anti-Midwest. Having a casual conversation only to talk about you is unheard of in the Midwest where you ask a question because you genuinely care about what the other person is saying.
N Back home people like don’t want to hear you talk about yourself.
M: You are actually engaged in a conversation compared to just looking around to see who else is there.
N: Is there anything you felt like you had to change coming here, like clothing, the way you act, or anything else in particular?
M: Back home I would eat much earlier. There would be a set time when people in my neighborhood are probably eating or barbequing and it’s a lot earlier and people here on weekends at least go to dinner at like 9 o’clock and that’s a few hours later than I would eat dinner at home. Also a lot of people dress up here compared to Ohio at least. Back home everybody would go out in a shorts and a T-shirt and its fine, but here its like nice jeans, hair done, makeup done, accessories on accessories and your like have to be wearing a purse and I’m not used to that at all. So wearing a purse is a big deal for me.
N: Its been very similar for me. I would wear cargo shorts and T-shirts all the time and a don’t wear either of them here, especially the cargo shorts.
M: I barely Open my t-shirt drawer here other than to put it under a sweater. That was my main staple in my fashion back home and here its not really accepted at all. I only wear athletic shorts in the dorm and to work out, but before I would wear them whenever I thought I might do an activity outside.
N: Do you like dressing up more or is it kind of a hassle?
M: I feel like I do a lot more laundry because I didn’t bring a lot of my nicer clothes. I thought it was college so nobody cares anyways, but people care here. I’ve gotten used to it but I have to get up 30 minutes before I would have to back home just to get ready. Back home it was no makeup, no earrings, wearing athletic shorts to class and not that people would judge you, its just here it is not normal not to wear makeup or try to look nice. Some people here get dressed up for every little thing even if it is just going to the DUC.