7 Things All Southern GW Students Had to Learn About the North

I love GW, but I’ll be honest; I experienced some serious culture shock when I started school here. I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee and almost all of my family lived somewhere in the Southeast. I was used to barbeque being easily accessible, monograms on everything and frequent farm parties. 

When I came to GW, I found that life can be very different once you pass through Virginia. A large population of GW students come from New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey. I found many differences between my life at home and the lifestyle of the Northeast. If you’re a Southern student at GW, you may have also noticed some of these differences. 

1. They Don’t Understand the Concept of Sweet Tea

It was freshman year orientation, and it was finally time for our lunch break. Another girl named Lauren from North Carolina and I went up to the food table where there was a pitcher of tea. We asked a girl who had just gotten some if it was sweet or unsweet tea. She said sweet, so we got some and immediately almost spit it out. “That is not sweet tea,” said Lauren. I looked at the girl and asked her where she was from. “New Jersey,” she said. It suddenly all made sense. 

2. They All Seem to Live Really Close to Each Other

Okay, I’ll admit this one could just be a coincidence. But for whatever reason, it seems like all my friends from the Northeast have at least two other friends who live within one hour from them. I think this is the source of my FOMO during school breaks when I’m nine hours away from everyone I know.

3. If He’s From the North, He Probably Plays or Has Played Lacrosse 

Y’all know the drill: backwards hat, giant headphones, backpack with the straps loosened way too much. Their Instagrams include several in-action lacrosse photos with the occasional team shots. While they have a pretty bad case of RBF, they can be pretty sweet. But avoid walking behind them when on your way to class—they walk incredibly slowly. 

4. Athleisure is Always the Move

Before moving up here for school, I had never seen so much Lululemon and Athleta worn on a daily basis. I’ve never even been to our on-campus gym, but I think I’ve seen every piece of athleisure in existence. Athleisure is what Northern GW students wear when they want to “dress down” for class. Me? I wear an oversized t-shirt that makes it look like I have no pants (sometimes I’ll mix it up with an oversized hoodie). It’s a Southern tradition. 

5. They Really Want You to Know They are Super Used to Cold Weather

If you don’t believe me, just walk into a room of Northerners during the middle of winter and say, “it’s cold outside.” That’s it. That’s all you have to say, and suddenly you’ve provoked every Northerner into telling you, at a loud volume, just how cold it gets in Boston or New York City. After only a few minutes, you will know the average temperature and snowfall in the major Northeastern cities. If you get lucky, they’ll even talk about how much snow it would take for their schools to close. 

6. They’re Really into Professional Football

In the Southeast, we get excited for Saturdays; In the Northeast, it’s all about Sunday. Where I’m from, the SEC dominates sports culture, and college football is ingrained in our Southern lifestyle. But up in the Northeast, I’ve heard much more about the Eagles, the Patriots and the Steelers than about any college football program.

7. They Think D.C. is Southern

Yes, it’s below the Mason-Dixon line. No, it is not the South. I can walk into any restaurant at home and order a sweet tea. Up here, it’s always, “I can bring you unsweetened tea with sugar packets.” 

Shout-out to all you Northerners, you’ve made a Southern girl’s move to the North an incredible experience, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you’re a Southern student deciding to come to GW, get ready: these people are some of the best around. 

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