I remember flying into Raleigh-Durham airport in North Carolina. The smelling of the southern breeze, the marsh trees and the sunny sky. This was my vacation. Even though I was two states away, I already could see a big difference between PA and NC, for instance we were dealing with 50 degree weather and wind storms. I checked my watch and it was 70 degrees with no wind in sight. I was delighted. Arriving at Elon University I noticed something that really caught my eye, quickly I pulled my phone out and looked up how many students were enrolled which was about 8,000. The school was huge, it was its own little town.
The reason I was going to Elon for the weekend was because my best friend Leigh was there. She and I have been friends for over three years, and since my spring break didn’t match up with hers, I decided to pay a visit.
Why did Elon shock me so much?
Driving to Leigh’s dorm to our friends’ dorms made me see that each dorm building had its own neighborhood, their own subsection. The dorms reminded me of a Marriott, their own kitchen, washer and dryer and their own rooms. (Reminding you of the village?) Again, I am very happy to be here at WCU, but leaving there and seeing a whole different point of view really opened my eyes.
Leigh’s point of view
I kept telling Leigh that this college was insane and nothing of what I thought Elon was. Then she said something that didn’t even cross my mind. “Yeah the school is great and all but there’s a bubble, no one ever leaves Elon”. You’re right– Elon was smack dab in the middle of nowhere, while WCU was in the borough, a walking distance from everything. Thinking about this more and more, I realized that most state schools had this issue (Penn state, UMass Amherst).
Here’s what I think
It’s one or the other for being at a college campus, either having a big and wide college campus and living in the middle of nowhere. Or having a campus that is smaller but in the middle of town and with everything around. Coming from NYC I like a smaller campus with everything around, I honestly don’t think about it too much, now coming back from Elon I notice it so much more. It honestly makes me thankful for choosing WCU.