The Observer, April 13, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 24
Student reflects on regional differences
Having spent my whole life growing up in New York, going to Case in Ohio is the farthest west I have ever been. My initial reaction to applying here was that there would be nothing to do and that everyone would be a hick. Of course this is not true and as someone who now loves Case and Cleveland, I feel badly about these first impressions of the Midwest.
However, with that said, there are some extreme differences between the east coast and the Midwest. College is a great time to experience these changes and when I go home, my Brooklyn-born and raised parents always ask to be updated on the rest of the country. Politics, economics, and social ideas are vastly different in different areas of the country, making the United States a unique mix of history and cultures.
But why are these areas so different from one another? How we are raised goes hand in hand with the environment that we are brought up in, creating extreme personality differences in the person we become.
My friends from the Midwest joke that I am a pretentious New Yorker who walks fast, forgets to say thank you, and wears black in the summer. What they don't understand is that while Cleveland is a city, there is no place like New York, and those New York stereotypes are derived for a very true and good reason.
The Big Apple is always surprising and fast-paced. Those who live in it just need to keep up. Not only have New Yorkers seen it all, they are also used to living their life accordingly. My mother has raised me to be prepared for whatever the city holds in store. "Don't talk to nobody, don't look at nobody, always know where you're going, even when you don't, and try not to get mugged," my mother said. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry?
Now having been taught these important life lessons for survival, life in Cleveland has thrown me for a loop. No one is walking on the streets downtown. Where are the 24-hour Jewish delis, and bright lights at 4 in the morning? The lack of human life is unsettling, and walking down Euclid alone at 9 p.m. is scary.
I asked my friends from Ohio where all the people were and they didn't seem to understand. Further, when my family drove me to school in August for the first time, both older sisters earnestly asked me when we would reach Cleveland while we were driving through downtown.
I also found it strange that my friend from Minnesota says hello to strangers and acts politely when they approach him. I was taught to ignore them and keep walking; maybe even cross the street. New Yorkers who approach you on the street do not want to borrow a cup of sugar. Many people from the Midwest may see this as rude and obnoxious behavior but New York can be gritty and hostile, and New Yorkers are trained to be cautious.
Simply put, New York is embodied by the spastic, neurotic, and sarcastic Woody Allen; a city of people who depend on their therapist and consider a patch of grass on a sidewalk to be nature. The Midwesterners listen to Garrison Keeler, actually cook dinner, and may forget to lock the door at night. I wonder if each region will ever change to become like the other, but I hope they maintain their uniqueness.
