Fifty Nifty United States

Now that you have that song stuck in your head and are wondering how on earth you were able to remember all the states in alphabetical order from something you learned in 5th grade, we'll proceed:

One of the cool things about applying to graduate schools is that I had a huge opportunity to go pretty much anywhere in the country: north, south, east, or west.  I applied to schools from various parts of the country, and got to visit most of them in person.  I definitely thought that one of the parts of my final decision was going to have to be based on the location of the school, since I really didn't want to live somewhere I wouldn't like for two years.

The problem with this is, I like most places I go to.  I have visited 26 out of the 50 states, and I want to hit 'em all before I die (bucket list!), and even mix them up with a bunch of different countries (less realistic bucket list!).  I eventually had to take the location aspect out of the equation, because I discovered that I liked everywhere these schools were.  I liked home, of course, because it was familiar and, ya know, home-y.  I liked Waco because it was also familiar and home-y and Baylor-y and awww.  I liked North Carolina because it's pretty and they have four seasons, which is pretty sweet.  I liked Tennessee because it's also pretty and also has four seasons and some mountains and has the added bonus of being within a day's drive to my grandparents.  I liked Chicago because it's one of my favorite cities and it's just fun.  I loved Seattle because it's just terrific and unique and very pretty and fun.  Now that I think about it, the only place where the location made a big difference was Arizona - I didn't apply to anywhere there because it's just too darn hot.  But I bet if I had ended up there, I would've ended up liking it, too.

Because, you see, it's not about the specific location.  Sure, there are some places I don't prefer (Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, middle-of-nowhere New Mexico at 1:30 am) but I still think that it's the people, the experiences, and what you do in the place you are that makes it great - I have had some good times in each of these states because of who I was with.  It's not the scenery or the weather or the proximity to a big city or the name of the town or the state or the presence or absence of access roads next to the freeways.  I know my classmates have heard me say a few times that I don't love where I'm from because it's Dallas/Fort Worth, but that I love where I'm from because it's home, and it wouldn't matter where it is as long as I have the family, friends, and memories there.  Home could be on Jupiter and it would still be great because it's home.  And it's the same way with all these school locations - I realize that I could've been happy anywhere because I would have been with people I like and doing something I love.  Even in Arizona.

What prompted these thoughts today?  I just really want to go home.


I've been to the states in italics, as far as I can remember:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming