The first time I came to NC State to visit during my senior year of high school, I was already positive I would be attending Western Carolina University in the fall, which is quite possibly the most rural university in the whole state of North Carolina. At the time, I thought rural was what I wanted. I come from Summerfield, North Carolina, a relatively rural small town about thirty minutes north of Greensboro.
Rural was what I was used to. It was comforting, like home. So you can imagine my surprise when I fell in love with Raleigh and NC State’s brick-clad campus. The new surroundings and new people invigorated me, and I knew by the end of my visit that NC State would be the place I’d eventually call home.
When I first arrived at my new home, it was extremely easy to meet people; however, after classes kicked in, making friends suddenly wasn’t such a walk in the park. School turned into a lonely place for me, despite being surrounded by thousands of people.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re not used to being in such a big, busy place, especially if you were raised in a small town like I was. In my high school, everyone knew each other because we grew up together, which made the transition from a small, familiar hometown to the largest university in North Carolina particularly jarring.
However, there are many positive aspects to living in a big city like Raleigh that you might not initially think of if you’re from a small town. Typically, if you prefer the rural lifestyle, you’ll see cities as loud, crowded, crime-infested places; but Raleigh is actually one of the more quiet, clean cities I’ve been to, and I’ve never once felt unsafe.
A big plus to living in Raleigh instead of a rural setting is how close everything is. At home, it takes me 30 minutes to drive to the nearest gym. Here at NC State, it’s a 30-second walk across the street.
Also, on NC State’s campus, there’s almost always something to do and someone to talk to. I can spontaneously knock on a friend’s door to ask if they want to go out. Whereas, at home I have to plan when I hang out with friends a day or more in advance, so I don’t waste gas money.
My biggest struggle with living on a big campus was building up the courage to knock on a neighbor’s door in the first place.
If you’ve been in the same small town, and around the same group of people your entire life, maybe meeting new people is as hard for you as it was for me my first year at NC State. Luckily, I found ways to use my hobbies and interests to find smaller communities within NC State that I could more easily connect with.
I’ve found that the most effective way to meet new people was to join a Living and Learning Village. There are 16 different villages for students to choose from, from the Arts Village to the Impact Leadership Village, and they create the perfect opportunity for students to meet people who share similar interests.
I chose to apply to live in the Arts Village my first year because singing and playing guitar are my favorite things in the whole world. I figured if I couldn’t easily connect with people who shared my rural background, I could connect with people who shared a similar artistic background instead.
What I got for applying was more than I could’ve asked for. Everyone in the Arts Village was so welcoming and eager to meet one another; and within the first month I knew that I didn’t just find some people to connect with, I found a family. I found a home away from home.
This year, I’m a lot happier. I’ve met some new friends and I’ve found my place here at State. Instead of seeing the differences between my hometown and Raleigh as stressful, I find the change of scenery refreshing. I’ll always love where I came from, but there’s something about the city that makes me feel more independent. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to call home.
