Being a freshman at OU has been great so far. Living in Athens is all I thought it was going to be.But, it’s a little over two hours away from my hometown of Delaware. Moving away from home has its benefits, but it also presents some challenges. While I’m doing just fine on my own, I’m starting to miss the lifestyle and feel of Delaware more and more. So here are 20 things I already miss about Delaware.
Although OU is renowned for the community that it creates within Athens, there’s something about being away from the place that I grew up that is strange. Which I’m sure everybody is feeling right about now.
You don’t really know how important that is until you suddenly don’t know where everything is anymore. In Delaware, I can direct you to absolutely anything in the entire city. Still trying to get used to that in my new home.
I’m the only member of my circle of friends that decided to attend University. Therefore I’m the only one that moved away, which is a change. Making new friends isn’t hard, but it’s important to hold onto the friendships that you left back at home.
The same may not be true for everybody, but I became extremely close to my teachers during my stint in Delaware Hayes. Teachers are a valuable tool for life after school. So keep that in mind while you’re transitioning to college life.
Anybody from Delaware will know about Pat and his record store, Endangered Species . Any day of the week, any day of the year, you could always count on Pat to give you the run down on all things music.
We don’t have much, but we have a local diner called Hamburger Inn. Which is home to not only the best cinnamon roll known to man and all the best greasy diner food, but tons of friendly faces too.
Delaware has three antique stores that are always full of the coolest and most outlandish things! You never know what is buried in dirty, dusty dressers. Sometimes it’s fun to dig through and find out.
We aren’t the only place that has a Whit’s, but we’re one of the few. Frozen custard is like ice cream, but more cream and less ice. It’s significantly better.
Mingo park is just our local park and public swimming pool. Although public pools are pretty miserable, it has a special charm. It’s also just a nice place to go out and enjoy the outdoors without travelling too far.
I guess this is more of a Columbus thing, but I miss it all the same. Who doesn’t love to go to the Zoo? If it’s too hot for that, Zoombezi bay is a perfect place to cool off. Both the Zoo and Zoombezi are also great places for teens to work during the summer.
I know this applies to all high schools, but there’s something special about your home stadium. I know for me, I can recall the sounds, smells and atmosphere of every single Friday night during high school.
This is also a Columbus thing, Polaris is an epicenter of shopping. It has everything you could need, and everything you could want to eat as well. The mall is usually where everybody ends up when they have nothing else to do.
Delaware is famous for our county fair. We host The Little Brown Jug every year, it’s the largest harness race in the U.S. Harness racing being a type of horse racing, which attracts people from all over the nation to our small town.
I couldn’t resist throwing this there. Bibibop is like an Asian version of Chipotle, but it’s better than anything you’ve ever eaten. Do yourself a favor and get to a Bibibop. We don’t have one in Athens and I’m heartbroken.
Most people on campus are probably feeling this one right about now. I miss my family and all, but I miss my cats a little bit more.
Victor’s is a Mexican food chain, and it has the best tacos imaginable. After having a Victor’s taco, you’ll never eat Taco Bell again.
Living in a college town (and not being a student) is fun. You get to see all of the interesting people that college brings, without having to interact with them. It’s the ultimate form of people watching. You also get to go to all of the fundraising and charity events put on by local fraternities and sororities. It’s more fun that it sounds, and it’s more fun when you aren’t a student.
Blue limestone is a small park in the middle of Delaware on the Ohio Wesleyan campus. It has a pond that was once a quarry, making it incredibly deep and full of treasures. Sometimes people pull some pretty random stuff out of the water with their fishing poles, like shoes, tools that lay at the bottom from the old quarry work sight and sometimes pieces of a train car that supposedly lies at the bottom of the quarry from a nearby railroad.
A beautiful park with camp grounds, a beach, an 18 disc golf course, marina and tons of amazing photo spots. A great place to go for any outdoor occasion or to just spend time down at the water.
At the end of the day, I’m happy to be on my own and out of the house, but I still miss my family dearly. Learning to live on campus is new and challenging sometimes, but I’ll always have the support of my family behind me.
What do you miss about your hometown?
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