There’s an old saw that advises: “Never ask anyone where he’s from. If he’s from Texas, he’ll tell you; if he’s not, don’t embarrass him.”
I’m a native Texan with deep roots here, and I know that there are a lot of other Texans, both native and of the “came here as fast I could” variety,* here on BW dot com.
So, neighbors, pipe up! Who’s a Texan? Also, what part?
*Or maybe there are people who “self-identify” as Texans even though they can’t live here (yet). Mustn’t make anyone feel excluded, or embarrassed.
15 replies on “Texan round-up”
That’s a hilarious adage. Alas, not all of us are lucky enough to be born in red states. I’m from Washington, and I do not approve of being governed by Seattle. I’m proud to say my county went for trump, though it didn’t matter in the end.
In a few months, I will leaving for college in the beautiful red state of Montana. The campus is in a beautiful city, not one seedy area, and all of the people are friendly. I know, I know, colleges are left leaning, but I think this one is better than most. They have gun storage at the dorms, even though weapons aren’t allowed on campus, which I think is a good sign. Plus I saw a TPUSA table when I went to tour it over spring break.
Montana is about as close as I can get to Texas, and I can’t wait to spend a few years surrounded by the mountains of the Big Sky State. Any advice on Montana or college?
No advice about Montana (my daughter lives in Great Falls), but I’d have to guess you were in Clallam County in Washington, as its the only one I know of that went for Trump. We have property there, and were intending to retire there, except Sequim doubled in size in a few years and the writing was on the wall.
My daughter tried to become a geologist, at the university in Butte. It proved too much for her and she finished a two-year degree in graphic arts in Great Falls.
Missoula is a bit lefty because of the University. Dunno anything at all about the rest of them.
We live in Grays Harbor County actually. And I’m going to Montana State University in Bozeman, Gallatin County. Gallatin barely went for Clinton, and that was with the university. They went for Romney before then, though.
That’s likely a better school than the branch in Missoula. Bozeman is much more conservative. I didn’t know Grays Harbor went Trump, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. Aberdeen is where liberals go to disappear…
No, Aberdeen is where heroin addicts retire. We have a big homeless problem at the moment, because they get a lot of handouts and the city government is not enforcing the law. You know, trivial stuff like squatting on someone else’s private property for years on end while doing illegal drugs. Thankfully, I do not technically live in Aberdeen, but in the adjacent residential town of Cosmopolis.
Grays Harbor is an interesting political climate because there is a lot of poverty, but also some of rednecks. It’s a small town with a strong sense of community, so you have those conservative small-town community values, but many people are also fond of their government support. I love the people who I interact with here, but all the homelessness, vacant buildings, and run-down neighborhoods are not enjoyable to live among.
Sounds like it’s trying to be Seattle, homeless-wise.
Aberdeen was thriving until the spotted owl rose up and smote it.
Advice about college: don’t make rules for yourself that will make things harder than they need to be. For example, I never learned to study–except cramming for exams–until I had to take an exam at the end of all of my schooling that was so big it required its own extracurricular six-week review course to prepare for it. If I’d learned to study before then (I didn’t know that I didn’t know how), my GPA would have been much better.
So do a little research online for “how to study” and find a method that works for you. Always prepare for class by reading all of the material required beforehand. Take good notes. Review afterwards.
Another thing I would advise is to look beyond whatever your core curriculum requirements are. Every school is different, but your requirement might allow you to take a different course from the usual, and you might find one that interests you more. You won’t get out of the introductory survey courses (and probably shouldn’t), but don’t necessarily opt for the most popular course within your set parameters. Seek out something that sounds interesting and might be a smaller class size. Because here’s a secret: professors don’t like teaching big survey courses. But professors LOVE teaching one-off or occasional courses about their own idiosyncratic interests. Take one of those kind of courses and you’ll enjoy it more too.
Very generally speaking, seek out Great Works-based courses whenever you can, no matter what your major is. I advise this because it seems from what I’ve read from you so far that you are a thoughtful person who is interested in foundational principles. You’ll want to avoid the deconstructive courses though. Read original texts and documents whenever you can. Read more than you’re assigned. Read, read, read.
Thanks for the advice. I’m a big reader for pleasure, and you got me pegged when you said I’m a thoughtful person interested in foundational principles. I’m going into mechanical engineering, by the way. I may be able to get out of some of the core classes when getting my BS, because I am in running start, which means I will have gotten my AA from a local community college by the time I graduate, and some of the classes I took will fulfill those base requirements.
I also got into their honors college, which means I can take honors classes (smaller class sizes) and stay in special dorms with a bunch of fellow nerds. I have found that my study skills have improved with nescecity.
That is excellent news about the honors program and the special dorm. That will really help you establish a community/peer group. (So you won’t need to join a fraternity.) (I speak from similar but not identical personal experience.) (And Congratulations!)
As for studying, what I’m trying to suggest is that you get out way ahead of that necessity curve. Don’t ever fall into the trap of “I don’t need to study, only students struggling with the material need to study.” Studying isn’t just about preparing for tests or passing the course. Studying is about absorbing the material for your own benefit, for your life’s fulfillment. I am still studying, and I am (ahem) several years older than you. You will be a lifelong learner.
For example, you don’t take physics to fulfill a curriculum requirement. You take physics to learn how the world works.
One thing you might seriously consider is to find a Great Works curriculum online and follow it (or some of it) on your own alongside your actual coursework. This is something I wish I had thought of doing, or that someone had suggested to me (and I had listened to). I am still trying to acquire such an education, and it is harder to do later. As a college student, it would have sounded crazy to me to voluntarily read unassigned Shakespeare, for example. (To be perfectly honest, I don’t really like Shakespeare all that much.) But everything about human nature is in Shakespeare. If you read all of Shakespeare’s plays, you’ll know more about human nature than almost everyone else you meet for the rest of your life. (N.B. I still haven’t gotten through all of Shakespeare either.)
These are sort of notes to my own younger self, hope you can use them.
I’m a wannabe. I’ll get there eventually!
I’m not from Texas, but my best friend is. Although he lives in Arizona now. Texas is far too hot for me, so I’m in Idaho, where the attitude is similar but the sun won’t kill you in five minutes.
You know what they say about Marines? Same for Texans. It’s like Hotel California: you can never leave. But it’s a good rather than a bad hotel in the desert.
If I weren’t in Texas I’m pretty sure I’d be in Idaho or Montana, or possibly Wyoming. I am down on the coast so the heat is moderated by the Gulf. But Idaho is beautiful. I am a big fan of Boise National Forest! Spent a birthday there once.
I’ve lived in Florida on the coast, and Washington on the coast, and in each case the seasons are moderated almost out of existence. I love that I have four distinct seasons here. Winter is winter. Summer is summer. The other two are moderate, but each unique from the other.
Difference, contrast, appreciation, and tolerance. All qualities the Lefties truly despise, despite their rhetoric.
I hear you. I’m on the Washington coast now, and we get 180 days a year of rain, far less sun, and a few inches of snow if we are lucky. The temperature never gets too hot or cold, but man is the weather boring and depressing.
Almost five years in the Republic, but we felt at home the day we arrived. Breathe in the rich aroma of freedom.