It won’t be the first thing I’ll tell you, but sooner or later you’re bound to find out: I’m a Texan. I was born and raised in the Lone Star State and moved out to Kansas for college two years ago. I’ve never lived anywhere else, so the transition was a little weird.
There are some things I noticed right off the bat about living in a Midwest town that was completely different from the hustle and bustle of the city where I’m from. First off, everything is 10 times slower. The speed limits are lower, the drivers act like it’s Sunday morning even during rush hour, and life just seems to move at a much slower pace. This can be irritating at times, but I’ve learned to deal with it.
Besides that, I was also surrounded by so many people from small towns I didn’t really know what to do. Did that mean they were backwoods and uneducated? Of course not. They went to high school just like me, and I had to keep knocking down the stereotypes I had formed about kids from small Midwest towns. Of course there were things we didn’t always agree on, but that comes with everyone you meet.
Getting used to all the Midwest chains was a struggle. The first time my friend said that we were going to Dillon’s, I thought maybe we were going to visit her boyfriend. When we showed up in front of a grocery store, that’s when I realized that there weren’t any Krogers or Albertsons here, and I was a LONG way away from an HEB. That was probably the moment it hit me: I don’t think I’m in Texas anymore.
After my first year here, I found myself missing a lot of things I took for granted when I lived at home.
Whataburger
If you’ve never eaten Whataburger, there is a huge void in your life that needs to be filled. Almost every Whataburger is open 24/7, which is incredible. It may just seem like a regular fast food place, but then you find out about their Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, or their spicy ketchup (finally available all year long!!), or that you can eat a burger at 3 a.m. and not a single person in the state can judge you.
Grocery stores
This might just be because I’m from a big city and am living in a small town, but my biggest complaint is that I can never find everything that I need in one grocery store, if at all. I love cooking and baking, but when I have drive to the French grocery store for fleur de sel I get a little discouraged. It’s probably because I’m a huge snob, but I miss Whole Foods and Central Market and Market Street and I want them here.
Three lanes
Are there any cities in Kansas that have three-lane streets?? I hate being stuck in two lanes. I hate it more than anything. Traffic is awful, there’s nowhere to go when someone is turning right and another person is slowing down to turn left, and I feel so suffocated. Is this petty? No, I don’t care. I want three lanes in my streets. I need a middle lane so I can get around all of the terrible drivers out there.
Shopping
Back home, I live 10 minutes from three malls, and countless other shopping strips. Here, I’m 30 minutes away from the nearest mall, and it kills me. Sure, we have a few cute boutiques on Mass Street, but they’re all so expensive you can’t shop there very often. Dallas may not be the fashion capital of the world, but they might be the shopping capital. I need clothes, Kansas, and I’m tired of ordering them online.
Texas State Fair
I only found out that Kansas had a state fair recently, and I’m pretty sure it’s almost 3 hours away. Admittedly, I haven’t been to the Texas State Fair since middle school, but every year that I hear about missing it, a little piece of my heart dies. Every year they have new fried foods to clog your arteries, anything from deep fried ribs, to fried coke, even fried butter. The day Big Tex caught fire I went into mourning. It’s basically heaven on earth (or maybe hell because even in mid-October, you’re going to sweat).
I know this sounds like I’m ragging on the Midwest, and sometimes I am, but I do love Kansas and Lawrence in its own way. It’s an incredible place to live, and I definitely wouldn’t have chosen any other school if I had the chance to do it over again, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for my hometown.