Why you hatin' on my college choice?

Man fuck these haters. Well, they're not really haters but fuck em anyway. Eh, well actually I'm not even mad at them either...

The thing is, I still have people asking me how the fuck I got from Nashville to Johnson City. JC is like 5 hours away and that's not really FAR, FAR away...but for a college student I guess it is. And it is like damn near in Virginia (the Tri-Cities area--Bristol, Kingsport, & JC--literally kinda sit just below the border...who put cities way up there?). The thing that kills people is when they find out I'm basically up here on my own. That is, there are people from Nashville but I have no family or friends up here, so their eyes go wide when I tell them I'm alone.

I didn't realize it was that big a deal. I mean, if there's an emergency of course my folks won't be able to get to me as quickly but I wasn't thinking of that. Here's what I was thinking about the nearest colleges/universities I could have attended:

Fisk University: Broke as hell, private
Tennessee State University: I don't wanna get shot thanks
Western Kentucky: I'm too broke
UT Martin: I'm not going to Memphis to get shot
UT Chattanooga: Too many Hillwood (my high school) people
Middle Tennessee University: I don't want to get shot & raped & robbed
UT Knoxville: ORANGE

And I think that was literally the whole list...all of those places are from 5 mins to 4 hours away, but my crazy self went out to the boondocks. Why?

It's peaceful out here. It's beautiful. I'm probably not going to get shot out here. The people are really friendly and it's so rustic. And the education is probably one of the best I can get. And this motherfucker is cheap. And it's big but not totally full of douchebags that won't give you the time of day. No one's judgmental out here either--all of my friends even accepted my atheism and brushed it like dirt off their shoulders, and this is a pretty religious place! I was floored! Too many people at home have told me I'm going to hell for being godless, gay, or both but out here it's like "Really? Okay."

And I wanted to cry because I was so happy because it felt like they were being so sincere. Now once I get off campus it may be a different story but it's not like I run around with upside down crosses and shit (yet). People are so ridiculously polite I can't stand it. The thought of even going near middle TN now makes me want to scream "FUCK NOOOO!" I don't think I'll ever go back to Nashville!

You may not realize it but Nashville (where I lived anyway) is like 70% urban, 30% rural and 100% JACK ASS. Shootings, robberies, dumb shit like that and some of the rudest people I've ever encountered. There's people like that everywhere but moving to JC has been such a culture shock I'm finally realizing how miserable I was at home.

It's just so weird being out in the country where people are willing to help you. You can talk to people without them running from you or looking at you like you've lost your mind. This is the Southern hospitality everyone talks about but I'D never seen it. Man, fuck the city, I may not stay here all my life but if they want me to come back to Nashville they'll have to drag my ass kicking and screaming.

I love being on campus. Lately when I'm not studying I'll just take walks around (places I'm familiar with, I'm trying not to get lost...anymore) and take a few pictures. I'm sure there's probably people like "...wtf is she doing" but so far I haven't been bothered. I'm not like an expert photographer or anything so some of my fotos come out a little boo.

That rather nice foto is of Roy S Nicks Hall I think. I don't ever go there but I have to pass it every day on my way to another building behind it. Uh, did I mention this campus is big as hell? -_- ah well...I enjoy the walks when I'm not racing to get somewhere.