An Ode to the South.
I remember stepping off the plane when I first moved to Mississippi. The heat and humidity were suffocating, I swear it felt like I could barely breathe. I was about to start my junior year of high school, transferring schools as well as homes. I didn't want anything to do with the place - right away I felt like I didn't belong. So when I graduated high school two years later, I was really excited because I knew that it was my chance to get out. I would apply to an out-of-state college and make my break. I didn't actually think I was going to spend more than 2 years in the south. But life has a funny way of working out sometimes, and in May of 2013 I found myself making a last-minute decision to attend Millsaps College in the heart of Jackson, Mississippi. I had no idea what I was getting myself in to, or what these next 4 years could possibly entail. Honestly, at this point I still felt like I was being bribed by my parents to go there and was already thinking about how I was going to transfer when I started that first day. One year into college, still was thinking the same thing. As much as I hate to admit it, I was being intolerant and closed-minded. I didn't think I would learn much at a small liberal arts college in the south, a place that didn't always get the best rep. I didn't want to go to a small school because I didn't think I'd meet as many cool people (not realizing that a small school would give me just that, as well as much more genuine people than I ever thought I'd meet throughout college). Frankly, I didn't want anything to do with the southern culture at all. I'd heard stereotypes about it and decided that this lifestyle wasn't for me, and that was that. I bet you can already guess that I didn't end up transferring though, and that Mississippi/Jackson/Millsaps left a lasting impression on me. Without getting too much into details (because honestly, although college felt like it flew by, it was also the longest and most action-packed 4 years of my life and I could probably sit here telling you a million stories about it that would take forever), I learned more than I could have ever imagined from my time at Millsaps and in Mississippi. I learned things about the south, the world, politics, religion/beliefs, the brain, and most importantly, myself, all of which will be invaluable to me for the rest of my life. I met amazing people who taught me how to question things, how to analyze things, how to think deeper, how to be more open-minded, how to accept failures, and most importantly, how to love others and myself. I can't thank Millsaps and Mississippi enough for introducing me to the best people I've ever met- people who truly shaped me into the person I am today, and the person I will probably be for the rest of my life, who happens to be someone I like a lot. I was challenged time and time again, and when I wanted to quit the most is when these people would be there for me, pulling me back up from my own darkest demons. And I was there to do the same for them. These years that I spent in the south and at Millsaps College were tough no doubt, and my patience was tested almost constantly. The world was and still is changing so quickly around us and at times I felt like I was stuck in this little bubble with a very narrow view of the world, but this made me push the envelope even more in order to think outside the box. I was forced to educate myself on issues that this planet faces- issues that I didn't even know I cared about, and I can say with certainty that this made me a better person. So no, I'm not saying these years didn't have their fair share of downs, trust me, they did. But what I am saying is that I do not think I could've had a more rewarding experience during these special years of my life in any other place with any other people. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm extremely grateful that I stayed in Mississippi for as long as I did, and now that I'm out of there, I can safely say I miss it already. Places like that have a strange way of growing on you, of making you appreciate the beauty in the smaller things because sometimes beauty in these places isn't so easy to find. Places like Mississippi make you appreciate the people around you for who they are, even though they might be a lot different from you in multiple different ways. It teaches you about tolerance through intolerance, and justice through injustice. It is definitely somewhere I'm happy to say that I grew up in, and for 6 years, I'm happy that I was able to call it home.