What is it Like being an out of state student at Texas tech?

Jaden and Kristen discuss the differences between living in Texas and Colorado. Kristen finds Texas to have a nicer community and more welcoming culture. She also feels that her mental state has improved since moving to Texas for college. Adjusting to a new state was initially challenging for Kristen, but she eventually adapted. She enjoys the college town atmosphere and football games at Texas Tech. While she misses certain aspects of Colorado, she recommends going out of state for a new experience. Kristen chose an out-of-state college to get away from home and is happy with her decision to attend Texas Tech. She loves the people and the hospitality she has experienced in Texas. The bar scene and grocery stores in Texas have also made an impression on her. Overall, Kristen is enjoying her time in Texas and appreciates the new opportunities and environment. Hi, my name is Jaden, and I'm here with Kristen. So Kristen, where are you from? I am from Denver, Colorado. Okay, I'm going to ask you some questions. Okay, how different is the lifestyle in Texas compared to Colorado? I feel like in Texas it's different, but Lubbock it feels the same. It's a college town, and Aurora, I don't know, kind of toxic. And Lubbock, there's just so much drama here in college. But Texas as a whole, it's a nicer community. The culture here is insane compared to Colorado where everyone is just like, F off. Yeah, I know. In Texas, you get people, random people opening doors for you. I know, and they always are like, it's just like the Southern house fatality is crazy compared. I didn't think that was a thing. I didn't think that was a thing either. When I moved here, I thought that was just like a movie thing, like oh, whatever. I had no idea. I didn't think people would actually hold the door open for you. I know, I think that's insane. It's rare in Colorado compared to here. But now I do it for everybody. Now it's just like a thing. Okay, did changing states change your mental state for the better or for the worse, would you say? I feel like it's kind of the same. Like college is stressful, so I feel like if anything has honestly gotten better, like being able to be away from my parents and my family, like do my own thing, I feel like that's really helped a lot. But I feel like that would be the only change. Like my mental, just like being able to be independent, make my own decisions, yeah, it's harder sometimes. But overall, in the like almost two years that I've been here, it's been really easy. Yeah, I would like say that my mental state has definitely gotten better. You can't be away from home. Colorado is just so toxic. Like when you leave it, I just really realize it. It's insane to me. And people don't realize how like toxic it is there. And like so many people want to move there. Yeah, they're like, oh, the mountain skiing. And I'm like, okay, but it's not all that. Like you're going to hate the people. I promise you. I would say my mental state is better. Yeah. Being away. Most definitely. I feel like most people would say that. I feel like most people in general would say that about college, I hope. How hard or easy is it to get used to like the new state of being here in Texas? I would say it was actually kind of hard at first. First of all, the highways are way different. They're like scary, scary, scary. But like not knowing anybody here except for one person, like it was kind of hard. Like I didn't have like a safe space in a way or like someone to like go to. Automatically, like I would in Colorado. And like college is like the dorms. You just get thrown everything at once. So for me, it was a little harder. It probably took me like a month. I just went through a breakup, so I was just like, this sucks. And those were like all the challenges you faced? Yeah, definitely in the beginning. And like the dorm food, that was really hard for me. I didn't like dorm food. That was like a big adjustment. I just wanted like salad. It's just like it's a big adjustment from going from home cooked meals to dorm food. A hundred percent. Even like being in the States, not having any family here. And I only knew two people. And I know it was just like you were always busy. The other person was always busy. So I was like here by myself. So I had to like explore. Yeah, I know, exactly. Because everybody's like, oh my gosh, I'm from Dallas. Like I'm from Houston. Oh my gosh, I'm from Austin. I'm from Denver. I'm from Denver. What are your opinions on tech so far? I really, really like it. I'm like a going out person. So I like going out and seeing a lot. And then school-wise, too. Like I have liked, I would say like 95% of my professors, which honestly kind of surprised me. Because that was the thing I was like worried about the most, I feel like. But I really do like it. And I like that it's a college town. I like that aspect of it not being like a big city like Boston and then the college. I like it like where it's all about the college. I feel like that makes it a lot more fun. And I definitely like football games. I love it. It's my favorite. I love how it's a college town. Because it's easy to like, I don't know. Everyone's so nice here. If you need something, they'll do it for you. And it's also like the whole town is surrounded. It's all about tech. Exactly. It's super easy to like find something you need. Or like tech merch. They're just like, it is literally just tech, which is so nice. I love it. Do you miss Colorado? Or do you just enjoy being in Texas? I would say I miss my people in Colorado. Not Colorado. I hate the snow. Me too. I hate the snow. I was going to say, we've talked about this before. Snow sucks. And it's like being cold is my least favorite thing on the planet. But in Lubbock, it also kind of like, the weather is so different from Colorado. I know. And everyone's like, it's just so bipolar. And I was like, you have not seen anything. Yeah. It's just like sometimes in Colorado, it would be like snowing and raining. I mean, it kind of does it here in Lubbock. But I feel like it's not to the extreme because it doesn't really snow here. And I feel like there's only really like a cold three months. And the rest are really warm, which I can deal with. I miss the sunsets in Colorado. I miss like having mountains. Like, I know that's like, just having like hills. Because here in Lubbock, it's so different from, it's just completely flat. Especially when it rains, it's horrible. Because it starts flooding. And like, you don't want to walk when it's super windy. Like when I was, like the wind is so different from, like. There's like nothing blocking it. So just like, all on you. No, I say definitely the sunsets are way better in Colorado. Like, especially in like Daniels Park or like Lookout Mountain. Like that. And in the summer especially. It's so pretty. I like, I miss being able to go like to a reservoir. Or like something. Being able to like have that body of water. It's not even like an ocean. It's not even like a beach or like an ocean. But it's like still sand. It's still like you hang out there and stuff. And it's like fun. And that's where like a lot of people are aging out to. But Lubbock, all you do is you just go to. You just drink and do school. Oh my gosh. That's what everybody does. I know. It's so funny to me. What is one thing you discovered at Tech that you love? Um, that's kind of hard. I feel, I don't know. I feel like I was already a social person. But like meeting new people. Like I found like a new enjoyment in it. Just like being new to Texas. Definitely being new to Tech. And like meeting all these people in your classes. But Tech overall, I would say. I didn't think I would like the tailgates as much. Because I'm like hot. Like this sucks. It wasn't fun. But I like actually really enjoyed it. Most definitely. I agree. Were Texas people welcoming to you? They were. Right? They were. I remember me and my parents when we moved in. We went to this like Mexican restaurant. And they were calling like me ma'am. And I was like, I'm literally like just turned 18. Why are you calling me ma'am? I know. And people get so like, I don't know. It's weird if you don't say ma'am or sir. But like that's like I don't do that. Also to talk about like the different restaurants. Because what is the, there's the, is it Rosa's? Rosa's? No, it's not Rosa's. The like Rosa's Factory? Yes. Or the Taco Villa? Yes, we don't have that in Colorado. No. So it's so different. And people were like dipping their tortillas in queso. And I've never seen that. Yeah. I've never, no. I've never seen that either. It's just like so interesting. Like they have like a lot of stuff. But I've never heard of like, I don't know if you've been to Spanky's yet. Never heard of Spanky's. I've never heard of Spanky's. Braum's. Braum's. Never heard of Braum's. I mean they have like the Torchy's, Chipotle, like Whataburger, like all that stuff. But they have a lot of good like, have you been to Picante's? Mm-mm. You need to go. It's so good. And it's so cheap. I, I, yeah, I'd love to go there. No, but people are just so much more welcoming. Like we talked about like the whole like door opening thing. Yeah. And just like being nice overall. And in driving especially. Yeah. They're like. The, the difference in the drivers is crazy. It's insane to me. Do you, do you recommend going out of state? I do. I feel like everyone in their life should have like a moment where they're not with their family and they try something new like individually. Even if you did know people here. Um, I think that you should go out of state because it just helps you branch off and get out of your comfort zone where you have like no choice. And you're able to, I just love being able to experience something different than just being trapped in like obviously Colorado or just being trapped in like Boulder. I know. Like a lot of people from my high school go to Boulder. I don't know. I, I agree with that. I definitely would recommend going out of state. Because it's just like, why not go somewhere else where you haven't lived yet? Or like somewhere you visited and you really like. So why did you choose an out of state college then? I wanted to get away. I wanted to get away so bad. I didn't apply to any in-state schools until my parents made me. And it was just like a just in case. Really? Yeah. I only applied to Boulder because my best friend also goes to Boulder and she wanted me to apply there. But I was like so ready to get out. I wanted to leave so bad. And I was like I would go anywhere less than six hours away. Which kind of bit me in the butt now that I have to drive. Yeah, the drive was like nine hours. So boring. Well, and everyone's like, why did you choose Lubbock out of all places? I mean, well, I got an academic scholarship. Yeah. But it's affordable. I mean, like even though it's a small town, I really do really love it here. I do. I 100% agree with that. Like, yeah, it's not like ideal like ECU in Dallas or something like that. But I really do like the school and sometimes I don't like the weather. But like I couldn't imagine myself going anywhere else. And tech like wasn't even in my top five. Same. It was I was going to go to LSU. I was like it's going to be great. Like Greek life. Like all these things. And like I got my acceptance from LSU. And I was like, I don't want to go anymore. And my parents were like, why not? And I was like, I don't know what I'm doing either. No, I love it. I love it here. I love the people. It's so much different. Just the like surroundings, like the hospitality. You know what I'm saying? It's just like, I don't know, like I wouldn't trade it. Like I would do this again. And like coming back, it would just be like so fun. Like when you're like older, like it would be a fun place to go back. Yeah, I wouldn't live here. Raider bar with your friends. Go to skis with your children. Go to Chimney's. Chimney's. We're talking about bars. The bar life is so much different than in Colorado. They just have clubs. Yeah. That like you can go to college. And they're so like far away in Denver. Like you go to Boulder. It's just like everything's so spread out in Colorado. And I know like Texas is so big, but especially just being in Lubbock, like everything's close together besides outside of the circle. Exactly. Like, yeah, no, the Loop has everything you need. Like there's no reason to go out unless you want to leave. Oh, HEB. Dude, I didn't realize how much I love HEB. I literally have never been to an HEB. And then I like go in there and it's literally like, it's compared to, well, King Soopers. We have something called King Soopers. It's like the same thing as King Soopers. No, exactly. But way, way, way bigger. I never realized how big everything is in Texas. No, literally. It's insane. People are like, everything's bigger and better in Texas. And I'm like, yeah, right. Okay, shut up. But it's true. And then we come to Texas. Oh, my God. It's so far. It's so funny. But, yeah, no, live, love, laugh, Texas. Well, thank you for being here with me today. Of course. Talking about being an LSA student. Anytime, anytime. I'll see you later.