As Tulane students, we do not go to a school isolated in a college town, built around the university. While we go to what some would deem a “city school,” I certainly do not feel as though I am surrounded by a concrete jungle. As I enter my final semester at Tulane and reflect, it becomes increasingly clear how different New Orleans is from any other college setting.
When I first told people I would be going to school in New Orleans four short years ago, they told me that I was lucky and that I would definitely have fun. I nodded in agreement but didn’t really understand what they meant. They talked about Mardi Gras and the insanity of Bourbon Street, of the Creole cuisine and of how there was always a party going on. It all sounded amazing, but I didn’t really get it. After experiencing it all, I get it. I get the way that New Orleans sucks people into its crazy, bizarre, amazing life, refusing to let you stop the party. I think anyone who has experienced the magic of New Orleans understands what I mean when I say that it truly is unlike anywhere else.
In these four years, I have experienced what its like to be part of a flash mob on Bourbon Street, to be able to hear jazz music playing from my college house’s window, to have a literally limitless option of restaurants at my disposal, and to do something new every weekend. I now understand how a place can grab hold of you and make you never want to leave. I have fallen in love with the spirit of the city, the friendly faces of all of its people, and the pure uniqueness of everything you may encounter in the Big Easy.
New Orleans has taught me about the balance of working hard but playing harder, of trying something new that you never dreamed you would enjoy, of embracing the craziness that is the heart of the city. No place in the world is quite like New Orleans. No place gives you the confidence, joy, or adventures that New Orleans does. I could not imagine going to any other school, mostly because I could not imagine a better temporary home than New Orleans. It will always be in my heart, no matter where my life takes me.
“You can live in any city in America, but only New Orleans lives in you.”
COVER PHOTO: Justin Haber
About Ally Frankel
Ally Frankel is the former editor of our Fashion and Beauty team, now the EIC. As one of the founding members of The Crescent, Ally loves the Crescent City almost as much as her hometown of Philadelphia. She loves to shop, read, eat raw cookie dough, and watch crime documentaries.
Ally Frankel is the former editor of our Fashion and Beauty team, now the EIC. As one of the founding members of The Crescent, Ally loves the Crescent City almost as much as her hometown of Philadelphia. She loves to shop, read, eat raw cookie dough, and watch crime documentaries.
