2008 Woodie Awards
Don't mock those who chose 'Boro
Sarah Lavery
Issue date: 6/13/07 Section: Opinions
I never thought I would end up in Murfreesboro. In high school, I was that girl - the girl, actually - who made it a point to let everyone know I was going to do bigger and better things with my life. I was going to move to New York, look at it right in its harsh, unaccommodating face and say, "ha!"
Instead, after only one semester, I wound up back in Tennessee, trying to start over and feeling like an idiot for trash-talking those that stayed in the 'Boro for college.
I was now one of them, and to be honest, I have been happier with my education and post-high school experience here than I ever could have been in the Big Apple.
Young Murfreesborians love to declare their dissatisfaction with this growing town, nicknaming it "Mur-free-me" and telling everyone within earshot their plans to escape it. And, as much as I respect and commend these people's big life-plans, I can't help but feel a twinge of annoyance hearing it time and time again.
What was once a cutesy and attention-grabbing declaration of independence has become a growing platitude.
I don't plan on staying here forever. I, too, want to get out of Murfreesboro. I'm too cool for it or tired of the familiarity, I just hope to experience the world from many different angles, not all of them tinged with an overwhelming conservative, Republican flavor.
I will not, however, ever purposefully make someone feel stupid for staying here or for loving it. Murfreesboro, with all of its flaws, has a leg up on cities like Los Angeles when it comes to its citizens' authenticity, and New York when it comes to accessibility.
MTSU is not a school just for those who couldn't make it out of Tennessee's borders. I could - and did - make it out, and chose willingly, to return.
My education here has been far from so-so. I have never felt that I am settling.
So, if you managed to follow your big city dreams, congratulations. More power to ya. Please, though, understand that some people that stayed in the 'Boro aren't less capable, they just followed a different path.
I had a few friends that successfully made it out of here. One moved to New York with me and now works as a technical designer for one of the biggest fashion companies in the country.
Another moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California and has found her niche living a typical L.A. existence - parties, never ending sunshine, rubbing elbows with celebrities, internships with major film production companies.
I went to visit the aforementioned friend this past week, excited to escape the tedium of my Murfreesboro life and to temporarily join her and her fun in the sun.
Even though I was excited, I had a feeling L.A. wouldn't agree with me. And I was right. The weather was beautiful and the drool-inducing boutiques unmatched, but after being pushed by drunk B-list celebrities and drunk B-list celebrity groupies at crowded bars night after night, I started to miss the Tennessean ennui I had formerly complained about.
Every restaurant I visited in L.A., although they had beautiful plate presentations and chic interior design, left my stomach growling and my wallet empty. Twenty-four dollars for a tomatoes and mozzarella salad, just because it's the famous Ivy restaurant? I don't think so.
The second I left the Nashville airport, I headed straight to Subway and gleefully scarfed down a $6, foot-long sandwich.
I'll take Tennessee's ubiquitous Wal-Marts and fast-food restaurants over my Los Angeles Pauly Shore sighting any day. And I am no longer ashamed to admit it.
Sarah Lavery is a junior journalism major and can be reached at scl2s@mtsu.edu.
Instead, after only one semester, I wound up back in Tennessee, trying to start over and feeling like an idiot for trash-talking those that stayed in the 'Boro for college.
I was now one of them, and to be honest, I have been happier with my education and post-high school experience here than I ever could have been in the Big Apple.
Young Murfreesborians love to declare their dissatisfaction with this growing town, nicknaming it "Mur-free-me" and telling everyone within earshot their plans to escape it. And, as much as I respect and commend these people's big life-plans, I can't help but feel a twinge of annoyance hearing it time and time again.
What was once a cutesy and attention-grabbing declaration of independence has become a growing platitude.
I don't plan on staying here forever. I, too, want to get out of Murfreesboro. I'm too cool for it or tired of the familiarity, I just hope to experience the world from many different angles, not all of them tinged with an overwhelming conservative, Republican flavor.
I will not, however, ever purposefully make someone feel stupid for staying here or for loving it. Murfreesboro, with all of its flaws, has a leg up on cities like Los Angeles when it comes to its citizens' authenticity, and New York when it comes to accessibility.
MTSU is not a school just for those who couldn't make it out of Tennessee's borders. I could - and did - make it out, and chose willingly, to return.
My education here has been far from so-so. I have never felt that I am settling.
So, if you managed to follow your big city dreams, congratulations. More power to ya. Please, though, understand that some people that stayed in the 'Boro aren't less capable, they just followed a different path.
I had a few friends that successfully made it out of here. One moved to New York with me and now works as a technical designer for one of the biggest fashion companies in the country.
Another moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California and has found her niche living a typical L.A. existence - parties, never ending sunshine, rubbing elbows with celebrities, internships with major film production companies.
I went to visit the aforementioned friend this past week, excited to escape the tedium of my Murfreesboro life and to temporarily join her and her fun in the sun.
Even though I was excited, I had a feeling L.A. wouldn't agree with me. And I was right. The weather was beautiful and the drool-inducing boutiques unmatched, but after being pushed by drunk B-list celebrities and drunk B-list celebrity groupies at crowded bars night after night, I started to miss the Tennessean ennui I had formerly complained about.
Every restaurant I visited in L.A., although they had beautiful plate presentations and chic interior design, left my stomach growling and my wallet empty. Twenty-four dollars for a tomatoes and mozzarella salad, just because it's the famous Ivy restaurant? I don't think so.
The second I left the Nashville airport, I headed straight to Subway and gleefully scarfed down a $6, foot-long sandwich.
I'll take Tennessee's ubiquitous Wal-Marts and fast-food restaurants over my Los Angeles Pauly Shore sighting any day. And I am no longer ashamed to admit it.
Sarah Lavery is a junior journalism major and can be reached at scl2s@mtsu.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Nick Zamudio
posted 6/15/07 @ 2:22 PM CST
The grass is not always greener on the other side. Change does not necessarily imply a change for the better.
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