Rude, always on the go, an accent for days and coffee running through their veins. These are some of the stereotypes I have heard about my fellow New Yorkers, and to be honest, some of these are true.

The pace in New York City is very different than here in Kent. In the Big Apple, people are always on the go, trying to get somewhere as quickly as possible, usually because they are running late.

All my life, I had been surrounded by people who push and shove, just to get past you while you are walking down the street, or to get into the train car before you, and as soon as I set foot in Kent, all that changed.

Here, politeness is more common. People don’t push and shove, but instead wait until you pass, even if you take forever. These were some of the things I encountered in my first week being in Kent.

I was walking down to the Hub when a complete stranger stopped, said hello and asked me how my day was going. This was the strangest thing, because I wondered why that person would even care or would try and talk to me without knowing me.

Another stereotype I have encountered is the fact that I don’t have an accent. When my best friend’s mom first met me, she said she thought I was going to have an accent because I’m from New York City. A lot of people that have accents are typically from Staten Island, Long Island or Brooklyn. These people usually are Italian, but don’t quote me on that.

Being in Ohio has made me realize that most people here are nice and have a very positive outlook on life. I will be the first to admit there are probably exceptions to my generalization, but to me, it just seems people here are different than us New Yorkers.

The message here is that whether you are from New York or Kent, it is important just to take at least a minute to enjoy our lives and appreciate the fact that people can be very different from us. While that depends on where they are from and how they grew up, even people who grew up similarly can be very different, too.

Celia Fernandez is a sophomore news major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].