Being a Carolinian means more than wearing garnet and black.

I was raised in Summerville, South Carolina, a town about 25 minutes away from Charleston. It's a place revered for its good schools, its football team (Summerville Greenwave!), and its "small-town charm."

I hate small towns, and I don't think they're charming.

Needless to say, I was pretty miserable most of the time in Summerville. I found things to do, of course, but I never really felt like I belonged there. My dreams were so big that I knew I could never stay there.

When I first started looking at schools, I considered places far, far away from Summerville, and far away from South Carolina. I looked at UCLA, NYU, and even Tulane. I wanted to live a fast-paced life, and I didn't think I could have that in my home state.

Shortly thereafter, though, my mother told me that I had to go to college in-state so that I could get in-state tuition. Frustrated, I settled on College of Charleston as my top choice. It sounds counterintuitive, I know, especially since I wanted more than anything to be far away from Charleston. It made sense in my mind, though, because not only would my (now ex-) boyfriend be attending there in the fall, but I could get a solid degree in International Business. Plus, Charleston has a great music, art, and fashion scene, which I love. College of Charleston was the place for me...or so I thought.

What I didn't consider in my plan was my brother, Dan. Dan graduated from USC in 2003, and he wasn't exactly happy with my not even considering Carolina. (Neither was his girlfriend, Claire.) Finally, just to get both of them off my back, I went on a tour of Carolina during October of my senior year.

I tried to hate it here. I wanted to prove my brother wrong--I wanted to show him that I knew what was best for me, and that he couldn't sway my decision. So I tried to find everything wrong with this place. By the end of the tour, though, I wanted to go here. Everything about it seemed right for me--it was far from home, but close enough for me to go home if I wanted to; there was an AMAZING fashion merchandising program; the campus was even prettier than C of C's, and, best of all, it was right in the middle of the state capital, which meant city living all the way.

When I first came here, I expected USC to be fun, but not THIS fun! USC has far exceeded my expectations in every way possible. Most of my classes are small, and the teachers are amazing--they're all knowledgeable and passionate about the subjects that they teach. The workload is easily manageable, and rushing for my sorority was the best experience of my life! I feel like USC is my home, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be.

Being at Carolina is more than football and greek life, though. Check out the Carolinian Creed:

The community of scholars at the University of South Carolina is dedicated to personal and academic excellence.
Choosing to join the community obligates each member to a code of civilized behavior.
As a Carolinian....
I will practice personal and academic integrity;
I will respect the dignity of all persons;
I will respect the rights and property of others;
I will discourage bigotry, while striving to learn from differences in people, ideas, and opinions;
I will demonstrate concern for others, their feelings, and their need for conditions which support their work and development.
Allegiance to these ideals requires each Carolinian to refrain from and discourage behaviors which threaten the freedom and respect every individual deserves.

Being at Carolina is about more than cheering for the Gamecocks and wearing garnet and black to show your school spirit. It's about more than making good grades and trying to get your degree. Being a Carolinian means striving for personal excellence in all areas of your life. It means learning from other people by keeping an open mind and respecting the differences of all people. If we do that, and we expect the same from those around us, we can make the world a much better place to live in.

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura