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Life in College Station can be overwhelming for country kids, but Aggieland is a small town at heart. There are perks to city life: someone here is guaranteed to share your hobbies and when you're in need of comfort food at 2 a.m. Taco Cabana is only minutes away.
This time of year the campus is brimming with the fresh faces of new and prospective students. Let me be one of many to say, "Howdy Ags!" For the many Aggies who come from rural towns, Bryan-College Station seems like the big city and can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, too many freshmen never adjust and miss out on seeing all that the "big city" has to offer. Don't let the population sign fool you; Aggieland is a small town in city clothes.
It's easy to get lost on a campus of almost 50,000, and many students do. Don't make the mistake of fading into the crowd. A&M has over 800 registered student organizations; find one you like and start making friends. One of the best things about a student body this size is the myriad of interests and opportunities at your fingertips. Whether your hobby is practicing exotic birdcalls or making Star Trek ASCII fan art, someone else on campus will share your passion.
The downside of sharing a campus with so many students is their cars. I learned to drive on one-lane oilsand roads, so one of the first things I noticed about College Station was the traffic. There really isn't any upside to the traffic itself ¬- you just have to learn to deal with it. I like to think of it as the yellow brick road, which leads to enlightenment and post-midnight tacos. There are not one, but two movie theatres within 10 minutes of campus, along with a mall, more restaurants than you can shake a stick at and two Wal-Marts. Some of you are shaking yours heads wondering what "Deliverance" backwoods I stumbled out of, but others of you know exactly what I mean. Trust me, being able to run to HEB for something without having to make a 30-minute trip into town is going to revolutionize your life.
When the traffic threatens to overrun you, remember the buses. Riding the bus is something else that seems new and intimidating at first, but have no fear. The buses are your friends. All the schedules are online and they're generally on time, so use them to your advantage.
Other downsides have less obvious silver linings. Somewhere in my room, under the detritus of last semester, I have my first eviction notice and my first warning from the College Station police. There are a lot of rules here; a lot more than there were in the country. There are rules about not having too much trash in your front yard, for instance (and that means trash as defined by the city, whether or not you consider it lawn ornaments) and how long your trashcan can stay by the curb. There are rules about when and where and how big of something you can burn. Unless it's charcoal in a grill, the answer is pretty much "no."
The most annoying rules are about where and when you can park your car. Transportation Services don't give out warnings, so make sure you pay attention to the parking signs. Fortunately, you get one warning for almost anything else, which is more than enough to learn from. Most things can be patched up with a phone call; people in College Station really are as friendly as advertised and just want to make you feel welcome.
You'll probably feel a little homesick at first, and that's OK. But the first weekend you go home and your whole town shuts down at 9 p.m. and there's no one in 100 miles who wants to practice birdcalls or talk anime or whatever it is you do, you'll know, and you'll be back. Welcome to Aggieland. Welcome home.
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