I am a proud Marylander. I love our “obnoxious” flag and I put Old Bay on everything. However, I decided to come down south for college. At the University of South Carolina most students love to hate us Maryland kids. Every Maryland student knows the pain of always being asked: “Why do y’all come down here?” With the hope that I may never hear that question again, here are some answers.
1. Warmth (duh)
Skipping Maryland’s freezing winters might just be our favorite thing about South Carolina. I can wear shorts in January? That’s fine by me. One inch of snow will cancel classes? I’m hooked. Columbia may be the armpit of South Carolina, but that sure beats trekking through feet of snow to get to classes in Maryland.
2. The Horseshoe
You can’t officially visit USC without seeing the wonderful horseshoe. The horseshoe is the greatest place for relaxing and catching up on some homework. As much as we love being warm, Marylanders can’t take too much heat. The horseshoe provides the best shady relief from the beaming southern sun.
3. Strom, Greek Village, Darla Moore…basically the whole campus
USC’s campus is amazing. It has some of the most beautiful buildings, and there’s nothing like walking down a sidewalk lined with palmetto trees. Plus, the Strom pool is more like a resort than a gym swimming pool.
4. The Best Business School
Although Maryland provides an amazing business school, they can’t compete with the #1 International Business School, Darla Moore. Additionally, Darla Moore is beautiful and eco-friendly, as the school produces as much energy as it uses.
5. The City Life
Going to school in Columbia is great because nearly everything a broke college kid could need is within reach. Need food? Walk to CVS (or even Chipotle if you’re feeling a workout). The Vista is also great for when family is in town and they feel like feeding you some real food. And of course, Five Points provides the break we all need from exams and stress.
6. SEC Football
The Big Ten conference cannot compare to the SEC. Southern football just does it better. Putting on a cute black dress and converse (sorry, we haven’t given in to cowboy boots yet) and going to tailgate all morning is the best of Saturdays in South Carolina. We’re not afraid to admit that black and garnet absolutely beats yellow and red when picking out game-day attire.
7. Gamecocks
Sure, choosing a school isn’t entirely based off of a mascot, but we would be lying if it didn’t influence us a little (okay a lot). There’s no other school that lets you scream “COCKS” at the top of your lungs. Your friends from home will continually ask you for Cocks apparel, so you know USC is rocking the mascot game.
8. Forever To Thee
Although we may seem Northern and foreign, there’s a reason us Marylander’s come to USC. We love the south and our fellow Gamecocks just as much as we love our Maryland-flag crab stickers. Our USC pride is so strong that we continue to convince all the other Marylanders to come to school here too. So we apologize for trying to overrun USC, but we’re not sorry to graduate from the greatest school ever. Go Cocks!