I always get asked two questions when I first meet people at St. Thomas and they find out I am from California: Do you see a lot of celebrities? And what are you doing in Minnesota?

To answer the first question — no, I have never seen a celebrity walking around the streets of my hometown. I am from San Jose, home of the Sharks hockey team, any high-tech company you can think of and about six hours north of all the Hollywood drama.

My response to the second question is a bit more complex. What I usually say is that my parents told me about St. Thomas because they lived in St. Paul and have Midwest roots. There is always a resounding “ohhhh” in understanding when I say that I still have family in Minnesota, but there is more to the story than that. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was ready to be somewhere completely new where I had to learn how to live on my own.

Mind you, I was ready to move to Minnesota, but I was not prepared.

It took some time to learn how to live here. For example, I had no idea what “Minnesota nice” was or that rollerblading was still a thing. Within the first month, I learned that people always find a way to bring up their cabins or the weather in conversation. When the seasons started to change, I learned about this thing called “wind chill” and how a reliable weather app that actually said what temperature felt like outside was necessary – the iPhone weather app didn’t cut it anymore.

I also learned a lot about St. Thomas in the past year. The university itself was another culture I had to adapt to. I noticed right away that people were always surprised to find out I was from California. I didn’t know that the large majority of students at St. Thomas were from Minnesota or from surrounding Midwest states. It felt alienating at first. It seemed like everyone knew about things I’d never heard of. It quickly occurred to me that what should be important is not where you are from, but it should be your personality, your conduct, and your opinions and values.

Another important thing that I learned about St. Thomas is that this is a community that supports you. I am not one to get homesick easily, but there were times when the 2,080 miles between school and home felt pretty big. At those times, I knew I could get support from Health Services, my RA and my friends. I also recognized that I am going to have a different college experience than someone who can go home on the weekends or for every holiday break. Although I spend Thanksgiving and Easter breaks with my family who lives in the Midwest, I can name at least 10 people who have extended an invitation to me if I ever find myself without a place to stay over a school break.

And when I returned home for Christmas or summer break, I was always asked the same two questions: How was the winter? Are you going back?

My answer to these questions was: Yes, the winter was harsh, but bearable when you wear the right clothes; and yes, I made it through the first year, and I am coming back for more.

Claire Noack can be reached at noac8702@stthomas.edu.